


And The Next Place To Wander

by littlesaintmick



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Mars AU, Multi, Tags to be added, brief but likely going to be explicit charlotte/roman, dean and roman are the main and central pairing but roman has a short fling before that, more characters to be added because there are So Many, past roman reigns/sasha banks, seth rollins/finn balor as a mostly background ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-08-08 06:21:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16424069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: mars had always held a place in roman's heart, and he finally has the opportunity to go; both to support his daughter, and to experience the red planet for himself.





	1. Iron

**Author's Note:**

> okay y'all...this story is kind of my baby, in the same way the hsau is. i have loved stories about mars for years. there's always a sense of hope and wonder, in stories about mars, and it only seemed right to create one in this space.

" _I don't know why you're on Mars. Maybe you're there because we recognize we have to carefully move small asteroids around to avert the possibility of one impacting the Earth with catastrophic consequences, and while we're up in near-Earth space, it's only a hop, skip, and a jump to Mars. Or maybe we're on Mars because we recognize that if there are human communities on many different worlds, the chances of us being rendered extinct by some catastrophe on one world is much less. Or maybe we're on Mars because of the magnificent science that can be done there, that the gates of the wonder world are opening in our time. Or maybe we're on Mars because we have to be, because there's a deep nomadic impulse built into us by the evolutionary process. We come, after all, from hunter-gatherers, and for 99.9% of our tenure on Earth we've been wanderers. And, the next place to wander to is Mars. But whatever the reason you're on Mars is, I'm glad you're there. And I wish I was with you._ " - Carl Sagan

 

 

\---

 

 

Roman looked at Sasha and shrugged. 

“I have to, Sash.”

Sasha exhaled through her nose and looked at him, and he knew she was chewing on her gums like she always did when she wasn’t happy with something he’d said or done. He gently took the baby from her arms, their baby, their beautiful daughter, and smiled down at her. Sasha finally smiled, too, and nodded. 

“I know you do, Roman. Just...come back, okay? Come back someday.”

Roman looked at his daughter, then at Sasha, and nodded. 

“I promise. I’m not gonna leave Lotu without a father.”

And he wouldn’t. Not ever. His daughter was his entire life, that was the whole reason he was going to Mars in the first place, to send money back home, so Sasha and Lotu could have a comfortable, happy life. Roman gently rocked his daughter in his arms, stroking a finger over her still-soft face. He’d never been happier than he had been these past few months, even with the financial struggles and everything that had happened. Roman didn’t want to leave his daughter, but he knew he couldn’t take her to the mining colony on Mars with him. It wasn’t a safe place for kids, not from what he’d heard. Roman smiled when Lotu reached out and grabbed Roman’s finger. He couldn’t believe she was real sometimes. 

Sasha came and leaned against his arm, stroking her hand over the few hairs on Lotu’s head. Roman took the second to enjoy the quiet moment with his daughter and the mother of his child. 

“I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, Sash.”

Sasha squeezed him around his waist and he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. They may not be in love, but he did love Sasha deeply. He knew Lotu would be safe with her, she was every bit as viciously protective as he was. It was one of the reasons why he had been attracted to her in their relationship.

He still sometimes regretted that it didn’t work out between them, but he knew it was better for them to be friends. He pressed his nose to Sasha’s hair and inhaled. He would miss the ever-familiar smell of oranges that hung around her.

\---

Roman gritted his teeth through the pain. He knew this test was necessary, and he honestly didn’t mind the pain so much. He’d always been able to withstand a lot. 

The intense pressure around him slowly let up, and he took a deep breath. He was unstrapped from the simulator and stood, slowly, taking his time and making sure he was in control of his limbs. Some of the people who’d applied had had to be taken to the hospital after all of these tests, but Roman had thus far...really had no problem. Everything was difficult and unpleasant to sit through, but it was necessary, and Roman was happy to do whatever it took to make this happen. 

The two soldiers-why soldiers were involved, he still didn’t quite know-led him into the office outside of the simulator and Roman sat down, a small headache building in his jaw. He watched the doctor look at a tablet, noting things on what Roman assumed was his chart. The doctor-Doctor Copeland-finally made eye contact with him and smiled.

“I gotta say, Mister Reigns, that was...impressive. Most people don’t last nearly as long as you did, in any of these tests. Especially not the more painful ones, which you have excelled at.”

Roman shrugged. 

“I...have always had a pretty high tolerance for pain. Don’t know why.”

Doctor Copeland hummed and typed things into his computer, him and Roman making small talk, primarily about their children. Copeland and his partner had adopted four children, and Roman thought the little family picture on Copeland’s desk was cute. The two men and their children made a handsome family.

Two soldiers, different ones, made their way into the office after a few moments. Roman tried not to let his worry show-he wasn’t a fan of the military or law enforcement. For good reason. 

“Hello, what can I do for you two?”

“We need to take Mister Reigns with us. Mister McMahon wants to meet him.”

Copeland’s eyes widened and so did Roman’s. They glanced at each other before Roman stood, shaking the doctor’s hand and thanking him before following the soldiers. They were silent as they walked, and Roman didn’t try to start any conversation. They rode the elevator up to the very top of the building, the doors opening into a surprisingly large and opulent lobby. Roman didn’t get a great amount of time to take it in, though, as he was walked to a pair of grand, heavy doors, and led inside. The office was as opulent as the lobby had been, and even bigger. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out into the city beyond. 

Mister Vince McMahon sat at the large desk in front of the windows, and watched as Roman was led to the chair in front of it. He sat, posture straight, trying to make a good impression. Vince looked him over for a moment before smiling and leaning back in his large, fancy chair. 

“Hello, Mister Reigns. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Roman swallowed. 

“Uh-I hope it’s all been good.”

“Oh, it has. I’ve been looking over your results from all of our tests, both the physical and psychological. I’m impressed.”

Roman ducked his head down. 

“Thank you, sir.”   
Vince looked through a few papers on his desk. Roman didn’t make a peep. Vince had an aura about him, and it unnerved Roman to his core. 

“Have you ever thought about joining the military, Roman?”

“Uh-no, not really.”

“Did you know I was a general?”

Roman nodded. It was well known that Vince McMahon had been one of the most successful generals in American history, though he was surrounded by rumors and allegations of many, many things. 

“Yes, sir.”   
“I see that you’ve recently become a father?”

Roman brightened at that, simultaneously becoming even more nervous, knowing Vince knew about his family.

“Yes, yes sir-she’s five months old.”

“Congratulations.”   
“Thank you, sir.”

Vince looked at him for a long, long moment, and Roman kept eye contact, unwilling to show any real weakness in front of Vince. 

“Is she why you signed up?”

“Yes. I wanted-I wanted to send money home to her and her mother.”

“How would you like the opportunity to make a little more money?”

Roman tensed, tilting his head at Vince. 

“What-how?”

“Some generals have asked me to point out notable applicants, to be part of a sort of special operations team, for lack of a better term. You’d still primarily be a miner, you’d just have some...special jobs to do, sometimes.”

Roman did not at all like the sound of that. Vince must have picked up on it.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing nefarious. It would be more like protection for certain human diplomats and politicians. And it pays very, very well. I’m sure your daughter and her mother would appreciate that.”

It was a low move, Roman knew that, but he did want his family-his daughter, to have a good life. He knew it would be a mistake to agree to it.

“...Tell me more.”

\---

Roman laid on his back, his daughter comfortably laying on his stomach, and he looked up at the sky. 

Roman had loved space and the stars for as long as he could remember. His father and uncles all always told stories about it, about where the stars came from and what they were, and Roman had still loved them when he found out the reality of the universe, undeterred by the concrete science of it all. They just fascinated him; bright balls of unknowably hot gases, shining in the sky, and beyond them, planets, full of things he couldn’t even dream of. 

Mars, up there, nestled between stars and moons. Mars was always the place that interested Roman the most. Once people from Earth figured out that Mars was livable, they’d begun organizing missions, and on one had discovered Red Gold. There was a more scientific term, but Roman liked the less technical name more. Red Gold was almost a miracle material; it had innumerable uses on Earth, from manufacturing to medicine to art. Earth had sent up miners from multiple countries, anyone who passed their fitness tests and psych evaluations to the highest standard. 

Of course, they’d also made military outposts at the discovery of native Martians.

Roman was deeply intrigued by the Martians, and wished the treaties allowed for the Earthlings to at least learn more about them, but as it stood, there was to be little-to-no contact, and the humans were restricted to certain parts of the planet. Which was fair; Roman would be the first to acknowledge that humans didn’t have the best history with treaties. 

The Martians, though, were amazing. Much more advanced in technology and medicine and, likely, warfare. They were spread throughout the planet similarly to how humans did on Earth, and they looked similar, too-the benefits of having almost homogenous planets. Convergent evolution was neat. There had been a picture published when the leader of the Martians-the one elected as representative for all sort of diplomatic missions along with being leader-had met with Mr. McMahon, the man in charge of all the mining colonies. The Martian had been beautiful, with almost unearthly blue-green eyes and strange, but happy features. Roman had noticed the presence of a bodyguard of some kind in all of the pictures as well, always by the king’s-president? leader?-side; slightly taller with long hair, a streak of which was lightened to a bright platinum color.

Roman wondered about them, sometimes. What they were like. If either of them had children, like he himself did. Roman looked from the stars to his daughter and smiled. 

He’d come back to her someday, or he’d find a way to bring her to Mars safely. He laid on the grass for a while longer, enjoying the cool spring night, making sure Lotu was warm and secure on his chest. He was going to Mars within a few days, and wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as he could. Roman looked back up to the stars, sighing, thinking of what was to come. He spotted Mars in the sky, a bright dot he’d known since childhood, and felt the giddy thrill of anticipation in his core. 

Despite it all, he was excited.

\---

The ship wasn’t quite spacious, like the luxury ones were. It wasn’t too bad, though. Roman was used to packed spaces, what with a giant family and living in heavily-crowded areas his whole life. He was still excited, too, even after the weeks of vigorous testing and training. The strange military-or maybe para-military, he still wasn’t quite clear on what he’d be doing-group he was now a part of had taken up a lot of his time. Whenever he wasn’t preparing with them, he was with his daughter and family.

Sasha had even given him a very sweet, chaste kiss before he boarded the ship.

Leaving his daughter behind on Earth was without a doubt the most difficult thing he’d ever done, and his guilt over having to do that warred heavily with the excitement for the journey he was about to embark on. 

And he  _ was _ excited; the ship had windows and he was sat right next to one, able to look out and see everyone preparing to launch. The Martians, after the first few missions from Earthlings, had helpfully shown them how to access a wormhole-affectionately called a ‘service road’ by anyone who traveled to Mars-which cut the trip to about a day’s length. Roman looked up as a man sat down next to him. He was tall, and broad, bald with dark skin. He looked imminently friendly and he smiled brightly at Roman.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

“My name is Bobby Lashley, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Roman Reigns. Nice to meet you, too.”

“You coming up for the mining job?”

Roman nodded, and they happily spoke as the ship started to fill up. Boarding was a slow process, and Roman had gotten there early on purpose. Bobby was nice; he was going to Mars to send money home to his grandmother, he was a kindergarten teacher after being a mixed martial artist, and he had a fondness for cats. Roman showed Bobby a picture of Lotu, and Bobby almost cried. Another man soon joined them on the third seat in the row, on Bobby’s other side; he was even bigger than Roman and Bobby, and had long brown hair pulled back into a braid. His sweet face was an odd contrast to his truly  _ massive _ frame. 

“Hi there.”

“Hey. I’m Roman.”

“I’m Bobby.”

They each shook the bigger man’s hand, and he smiled a very kind smile.

“I’m Braun.” 

They all talked, and Roman was happy to get to know the two men. He was looking forward to getting to know them more and, hopefully, working with them. Before long, the pilot called over the intercom that they were about to take off. Roman noticed Braun gripping the armrests of the seats.

“Not a fan of heights?”

Braun smiled sheepishly and nodded. Bobby raised an eyebrow.

“And you’re going to Mars?”

“Well, I hear it’s not as bad once you’re on the service road. Just...the part until then isn’t something I’m looking forward to.”

“It’ll be alright, man. Just keep talking to us, you’ll get through it.”

Braun and Roman smiled at Bobby’s words, and Roman showed the picture of Lotu to Braun, too. They started telling stories about their families as the ship took off; all three of them were going to miss the people they were leaving. As Bobby and Braun reminisced about their childhoods, Roman turned his head to look out the window. He could see the whole of the city now, with how fast the ship was moving upwards. It was an indescribable feeling, flying upwards and onwards into space for the first time. The ship gained speed and soon they were above the clouds, then further, and Roman was struck speechless at the vastness of space around them. 

It was dark, and empty, and Roman knew some people found that frightening, but he didn’t. There was comfort in that sort of everlasting emptiness, in his mind. No matter what humans did-good or bad-space would be the same, expanding, evolving, paying them no mind. It was nice to know sometimes that there were forces bigger than him, that he couldn’t control.

Roman looked at the Earth below. The gravity of it all only hit him more, seeing Earth-big, wide, beautiful planet Earth-getting smaller and smaller in the distance. He leaned against the window, his chin propped up on one hand. He knew many people thought of Earth as being finitely small in an infinitely large universe, and he supposed that was true, but he couldn’t help but think that while it may-in the eyes of the universe-be nothing but a blip on a blip of the radar, it was still so grand, and so magnificent to everyone who inhabited it. 

At least, it was to him. 

Roman looked up as the pilot’s voice came over the intercom, announcing they were about to jump into the wormhole. He braced himself and watched out the window again, as the space around them warped and shifted, taking them onto the service road. He felt a little nauseous, but that was to be expected. Roman could hear some of the people on the ship actually throwing up, and he winced in sympathy. Everyone reacted differently to driving on the service road. Braun had to lean forward, putting his head between his knees, and Bobby rubbed his back. Roman pulled out a tin of mints from his pocket, opening it and offering it up to the two men. 

“It can help, with all the nausea and stuff.”

Braun groaned and took a mint, and Bobby declined. Roman popped one into his mouth just in case.

“Do you know when we get assigned districts and stuff?”

“I think once we get there, they ship us off to wherever we’re gonna live.”

Bobby kept helping Braun through the waves of nausea and Roman talked to both of them, chatting until Braun was able to sit up and really join the conversation. Before they knew it, a few hours had passed, and Braun had fallen asleep, Bobby doing the same not long after. Roman himself felt a little tense, and he unbuckled the seatbelt to stand and work his way into the aisle. He stretched his arms over his head, letting out a quiet groan and looking around. The ship was packed full of all different kinds of people. Roman walked up and down the aisle a few times, doing a few squats and stretches. It felt good to move after a while, and he decided to go to the bathroom while he was up. The ship had a unisex one, which he appreciated, and he ran into-literally-a young woman with almost neon orange hair while trying to open the door. Roman laughed, blushing and holding the door open for her.

“Sorry about that.”

“It’s cool.”

She had a surprisingly deep voice and a strong Irish accent. Roman waited while she used the restroom-they definitely could use more than one on the ship, but Roman supposed it wasn’t unusual. She exited fairly quickly and waved at him, thanking him and returning to her seat. She seemed nice. Roman was excited to meet the other people on the ship. He spotted a few people from the military group, and that….wasn’t terribly exciting. He hadn’t really liked any of them, that he’d met. The manager of the whole thing, Paul, was specifically frustrating, along with his...Roman didn’t even know what to call Brock. But he didn’t like either of them.

Roman didn’t fail to notice that Paul and Brock were sitting at the front, in much more spacious seats. 

Roman sat back down, bringing his knees up to his chest in his seat, curling up with his back to Bobby so that he could look out the window more as he slowly fell asleep.

\---

Braun hugged Roman tight, almost to the point of pain, and Roman laughed, patting the bigger man’s shoulder. 

“Hey-kinda can’t breathe-”

Braun let go of him and Roman coughed a little. They’d all gotten off of the ship, their journey having gone smoothly. Roman and Bobby hugged briefly and they gathered up their things, finding their way to the assignment station. They didn’t see any reason in separating, at least not until they found out where they had to go.

They hadn’t actually seen the surface of Mars, not yet, the ship having docked in a building. He couldn’t wait to finally see it, to finally set his eyes on the red planet in person. Roman was directed, along with his two new friends, to an assignment officer. 

“Names?”

“Roman Reigns.”

“Bobby Lashley.”

“Braun Strowman.”

The officer looked over a tablet for a few seconds. 

“Look at that. You’re all assigned to the first district. You’ll be getting on transport line A, which you’ll find up those stairs and to your left.”

Roman and the other two men grinned, now a bit giddy with the knowledge they were all going to be working together. Roman already felt a sort of kinship with the both of them, and he and Braun followed Bobby up the stairs. Bobby seemed to have an eye for finding his way around, and they were happy to follow him to the transport line. There were a few other people who’d been on the ship with them that he recognized, and Roman stopped when someone stepped off the transport and called his name. He walked up the uniformed man and held out the little temporary identification bracelet to prove he was who he said.

The officer gave him a badge, pinning it to his chest, and Roman looked down at it.

“This is a special identification badge that will get you into the special ops quarters. You’ll be meeting with the rest of the team today before heading to your mine tomorrow.”

Roman nodded and re-joined his two new friends. They didn’t question the new badge, thankfully, and they all boarded the transport vehicle. Roman was bouncing in his seat, excitement taking over his body. They were about to see Mars. For the first time, he was about to see Mars, the real thing, with his own eyes. It was still a while before the transport was ready, and everyone was boarded, but once they were, Roman immediately shoved his way near one side so that he could look out the window. 

The transport took off, out of the hangar, and they were thrust into daylight. 

Roman was...awed. That was the only word for it. Awe. Mars was stunning, the sunlight shining off of the red dirt, the sky a pure blue. Everything looked so saturated, so bright and alive. He could see the native plants growing close to the ground-it was like the deserts on Earth, and he gasped as he spotted some kind of strange animal. 

He felt nothing but the purest sense of wonder he could imagine anyone feeling, here on this planet, millions of miles away from Earth. This beautiful, novel, red planet.

He was the first one off the ship when the transport stopped, over-eager to get out and experience Mars firsthand. Roman took his first clear breath of Martian air and tears almost came to his eyes. It was different than Earth, more metallic, a bit thinner. Roman loved it already. 

Roman, along with the other people in the transport, were led to the barracks-Roman was led off away from Bobby and Braun, waving goodbye to them as he was taken to another building. It was a little more put-together than the other ones that he could see, and he didn’t like that. He didn’t want special treatment, especially not for being some kind of pseudo-soldier. Roman thought to himself about how all of the money from it would be going to Lotu, to his beautiful daughter, and that helped...a little. 

The barracks were just as nice inside, and Roman looked around. He was told to go to room twenty-three, and he found his way there. There was a bed-small, but not uncomfortable-looking, and a desk and a small television across from the bed, a dresser for his clothes and a small closet next to a small bathroom. Roman frowned. He doubted the other miners and workers got their own bathrooms. 

There was a knock on the door, someone delivering his things, and he thanked the young man before sitting down on the bed and sighing. He did like that he had a window-he could even see Olympus Mons in the distance. How far away must he be for it to be in the distance?

Roman explored his new room for a while, putting his things away, making sure to have his picture of Lotu right next to his bed. He wanted the first thing he thought about in the mornings to be his daughter, he knew that would motivate him to keep going, no matter what happened. The process of unpacking was, also, very soothing for him. He enjoyed organizing things and putting them away, as there was a great deal of a very soft sort of satisfaction in it. 

The badge on his shirt flashed and beeped, and he pulled it off, pressing the little circle in the center. A small hologram message shot up.

‘ _ Reigns: Main Hall, Ten Minutes. _ ’

He supposed this was the meeting he was told about, and he sighed, pinning the badge back onto his chest and going into the bathroom to brush his hair out before tying it up in a bun. Roman made his way out to the main hall, seeing the other men and women in the group all gathered. He had only briefly met some of these people, and he...hadn’t really liked anyone that he’d met so far. Almost all of them were military and/or law enforcement. Roman was a manual laborer and athlete. He had nothing in common with any of them. Regardless, he took a seat at one of the tables, keeping to himself for the moment. Roman did wish he had something to do with his hands, at least. 

A man strolled in, followed by Vince McMahon, then another man and a woman after him. The first man had a buzzed scalp and a very outstanding nose, and Roman belatedly recognized the other two as Shane and Stephanie McMahon. The first man stood in front of everyone and Roman’s back instinctually straightened. The man exuded an air of authority.

“Hello everyone, and welcome to Mars. My name is Hunter Helmsley, I will be your coordinator and manager during your service here on Mars. You’ll be getting mine assignments, along with instructions for your first day momentarily. I want you all to know that what you’re doing here, the service you’re providing, is vital to Earth’s interests here. You should all be very, very proud.”

Roman did not like the sound of that. He kept his face carefully flat as Vince stepped up. 

“Your first mission will be coming up in a few weeks. You’ll have some time to acclimate, get to know each other, work in the mines, and you’ll still be going through rigorous training multiple times a week. We have to keep all of you in top shape.”

Roman wanted so badly to roll his eyes through the rest of their little lecture. The woman spoke to them too-Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, and the other man was introduced as Vince’s son Shane. He didn’t speak much, but Roman took notice of him. He didn’t have the same aura as Vince and Stephanie. Roman listened and watched the room as Vince addressed them.

“Take the night to relax and get to know one another. Training will start in three days.”

The little group of authority figures left, and they all sat, no one making any real moves to speak to each other. Roman sighed, unwilling to be the first one to move. A man stood-he was tall and bald with very dark skin and he smiled at everyone. It didn’t seem forced, either, and the energy he had was friendly and happy. 

“Well, we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Titus. These are my friends Apollo and Dana.”

Another man stood and a woman, the trio all very muscular and physically imposing. Roman watched and listened as more people introduced themselves; a woman named Natalya, another named Shayna. Two women who stuck close to each other named Sarah and Ruby. A man with tattoos and a bad attitude named Baron. Roman had previously met AJ, and had no positivity towards him. A man who was smaller than most of the guys who told everyone to go ahead and call him Ricochet, a quiet man with a sneer named Tommaso, a woman named Sonya, who Roman had also met on Earth, and a woman named Charlotte. There was a man named Randy who made Roman’s hair stand on end, and Roman finally sighed and cleared his throat.

“Roman Reigns. Nice to meet y’all. I look forward to working with you.”

Natalya-who was sitting close to him-held out her hand, and he took it, shaking it and smiling at her. Titus grinned and waited for the last person to introduce himself.

“My name is Paul Heyman and my client’s name is Brock Lesnar. Please excuse us.”

Everyone in the room watched as the two left the barracks, and Roman frowned. Nattie quietly spoke next to him.

“Am I the only one that gets a weird vibe from that guy?”

Ricochet leaned closer to them.

“Nah, I heard he’s getting special treatment and shit from the McMahons. I think he’s their golden boy or something.”   
Roman hummed, watching as Titus and Dana happily offered to cook for everyone. It did sound nice, an actual home-cooked meal, and Roman stood and followed them into the kitchen.

“Uh-excuse me, I was wondering if y’all wanted any help?”

Dana smiled brightly at him. Roman liked these guys. They weren’t as off-putting as some of the people in the group.

“I think we’ve got it for now, but thank you!”

Roman smiled and excused himself, sitting back down with Natalya and Charlotte and Ricochet. 

“-from North Carolina, and my father was military his whole life, and that’s what got me into it, though I started as a gymnast and track runner.”

Charlotte was talking about how she’d come to this job, and Roman listened intently as she talked. They were all getting to know each other, apparently, and soon Sonya, Ruby, and Sarah joined them at their table. Charlotte didn’t take up much time talking about herself, and Natalya went next. 

“Pretty similar story. My whole family has been military, and I guess I always felt like it was right for me. I’ve done okay for myself, I have to say. Was really excited to come to Mars, I’ve only been off-planet once before.”

“Yeah?”

“When I was a kid, I went on one of the first ever commercial space trips. It was fun, and space has been my goal since. What about you?”

Ricochet grinned. 

“Just had nothing else to do, really. Was close to ending my most recent tour when this whole thing came up. It is cool, though, I never thought I’d end up on Mars in a million years.”

“We came up here for the money, mostly.”

They all turned to look at Ruby and Sarah.

“Our girlfriend is civilian, and we wanted to be able to make sure she was comfortable and didn’t have to worry about money while we were gone.”

Roman couldn’t help but feel fond at the story.

“How long have y’all been together?”

Ruby and Sarah very casually held hands, and Roman liked seeing the easy warmth and affection between them. 

“Sarah and Liv were together for a year before I met them, but as a triad, we’ve been together for about five years now.”

Ruby smiled at them all and squeezed Sarah’s hand. 

“Don’t tell anyone, but the first moment we get back, we’re gonna ask her to marry us.”

Roman felt an honestly joyful laugh rise in his throat. He loved love, a lot, and was happy to hear the news from these new people. Sonya talked a little about herself, but kept it short; she was still fairly new to the military, a proud lesbian, and had no feelings about being on Mars. 

Roman cleared his throat and looked around at everyone.

“Uh….I’m not military, or anything. None of my family has been. I was an athlete all through high school and college and after that, I’ve mostly done...I guess manual labor stuff. The past few years I’ve been working on the docks, ‘fore that I was a welder. Still don’t really know why I got picked for all this.”

His face felt warm, with the exposed knowledge that he was the only non-military person at the table. He shed the hoodie he was wearing, balling it up and setting it on his lap. He heard a few gasps from the table and looked up. 

“Wow-that is- _ wow _ -”

“That is the most beautiful tattoo I have  _ ever _ seen-”

Roman looked down at his arm and blushed a little more; he did love his tattoo, and all the meanings behind it. He was very proud of his Samoan heritage, and getting his tattoo had been a way to carry the art and symbols of his heritage with him at all times.

“Uh-thank you, I’m-I’ve always been really happy with it.”

“Does it go onto your chest, too?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, It’s the whole arm and then a chest piece. Thought about expanding onto my back a little bit, too.”

Natalya gently traced over one of the lines on his wrist. 

“How long did this take?”

Roman rolled his shoulders, relaxing. It was easier to talk about the tattoo than his personal life.

“God, maybe-I think it was about twenty hours total?”

Ricochet and Ruby both whistled. Sarah leaned in a little closer to look at the detail on his shoulder.

“How many days?”

Roman tilted his head. 

“Uh….one...it only took twenty hours, like I said. We took a few breaks though, to like, eat and go to the bathroom.”

The table went silent and stared at him, and Roman felt, once again, very warm and embarrassed at the attention. Charlotte blinked her long eyelashes at him.

“You did this in one sitting?”

Roman nodded. 

“Yeah-I mean-it wasn’t that hard, other than covering up the brand-”

He winced at the slip; he didn’t talk to people about the brand very often, knowing how the story sounded. Ricochet’s voice was a bit funny when he spoke, though.

“You have a brand? Like, what bulls get?”

Roman’s face only felt hotter at the clear expectation of an answer.

“Well-yeah, just...I kinda...did it myself. Not to like, hurt myself, or anything-”

Sarah, Ruby, and Natalya all looked at his arm and easily spotted the ink-covered scar. 

“An ‘L’?”

“My grandfather’s name-it was Leakee, he was a big part of my life. So-I dunno, one day when I was in high school, I-and I swear I’m not crazy, I took a coat hanger into the bathroom and shaped it and heated it up and...uh…”

He quieted as he once again saw them all staring at him. He stared at the tabletop, hands fiddling with his hoodie. 

“Can we maybe talk about something else that’s not me, please?”

Natalya put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze.

“Aw, Roman, I’m sorry, we weren’t trying to embarrass you or anything, I think...we were all just kind of impressed. I’ve never heard of anyone with that high of a pain tolerance.”

Ricochet reached across the table and put a hand over Roman’s forearm.

“Yeah, man, we weren’t-I was just surprised. That’s really cool, that you wanted to honor your grandfather like that. Totally badass way, too.”

Roman nodded and Charlotte helpfully switched the subject, everyone getting drawn into the conversation and asking each other questions. Before long, Titus and Dana called out that the food was ready, and Roman stood quickly to help carry it out to the main room. It all smelled amazing, and he sat next to Natalya again, but now between her and Charlotte. The meal was wonderful, as was the conversation, AJ, Randy, Baron, Shayna, and Tommaso all joining them, and everyone was smiling by the time they finished. Randy and Charlotte were engaged in an arm-wrestling contest, Baron clearly trying to be brooding and dark but failing miserably. Maybe they all weren’t quite as bad as Roman had thought.

They all hung out in the main hall for a few hours, talking in random groups, about anything. Roman stuck mostly near Natalya and Charlotte, and Charlotte even pressed up next to him, cuddling against his side at one point, which made him blush. He definitely hadn’t come to Mars looking for anything like that. Not that Charlotte wasn’t gorgeous, she was, but he still didn’t intend on doing anything with anyone.

He was relaxed, though, by the time he went back to his room. He took a short shower, changing into his sleep clothes and laying on his bed. It was fairly comfortable, a little harder than he was used to, but he could manage. He’d slept on worse. Roman kissed his fingertips and pressed them to the picture of his daughter, and he quickly fell asleep, the exhaustion of the day finally hitting him.


	2. Radium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the adventure continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a 12,000 word chapter. i couldn't find a place to break it up that felt right. i've been working on it for weeks and weeks now. there's an explicit charlotte/roman sex scene. we meet quite a few characters. the plot moves. it is a very, very long chapter. be prepared to take a little Time to read it.

Roman made a silly face at the screen, feeling his heart swell when Lotu laughed. Sasha did, too, and Roman made another face. 

“Time’s almost up, Reigns.”

Roman tried not to let his disappointment show too harshly. The workers on Mars were only allowed so many calls home so often, and Roman was lucky enough to get an extra video call every month, but still, it hurt knowing that he couldn’t just...be around his child.

“I gotta go, Sasha.”

Sasha frowned, Lotu squirming around in her arms a little. 

“When’s your next call?”

“In three days.”

Sasha looked as upset as Roman felt. 

“Okay. Lolo, honey, it’s time to say bye, say bye-bye to Daddy!”   
Roman waved as Sasha helped Lotu to wave at the camera. 

“Bye bye, Lotu, I love you-so much, my beautiful soul. I love you, and I’m gonna call back home soon.”   
“I’ll talk to you later. I love you, Roman.”   
“I love you too, Sasha. Take care of her.”

“Take care of you.”

Roman had to end the call, and he sat back in the chair, letting a few tears fall. He closed his eyes; he knew it would be hard to be away from his daughter, but...he underestimated just how hard it would be. She was his whole world, his whole life. His heart and soul was a part of that girl and he felt an indescribable hurt at being so far away from her. Roman wiped at his eyes and stood, making his way out of the call office and heading back to the barracks. It was already a little late, and he needed to shower and eat and prepare for the work and training he had tomorrow. 

The work wasn’t that bad, in all honesty. The mines got a bit of a bad reputation, but Hunter-who was actually in charge of mine safety along with a man named Finlay-were dedicated to creating safe workspaces. There were very few accidents, and almost all of them were simple human error; Roman had thus far had a good experience. The work was backbreaking, physically, but Roman personally didn’t mind that. He liked the pleasant ache he’d feel at the end of the day, when he laid down to sleep. 

But the training was a bit grueling.

Roman bore it, because that was the job, and he’d do his job no matter what, but they were preparing for their first mission, and that meant extra time spent on weapons training-Roman was not a fan of that, but, again, he dealt with it-and making sure everyone was at their best. He at least was enjoying some of his coworkers, both in the mine and on the team; he got to eat lunch with Braun and Bobby every day, and some of the others that he’d met. There was a tall, and very big, and very handsome man from Scotland named Drew that Roman had met-and blushed rather intensely because of, but who wouldn’t? Charlotte also worked in their section of the mines, and Roman tried not to think of the lovely blonde too much.

She also had a habit of making him blush.

Roman walked into the barracks, rubbing his eyes. It had been a long day and tomorrow was only going to be longer. 

He had, though, gotten to explore Mars a bit. Not much-they were keeping everyone on a short leash and they couldn’t venture too far out of the mining territory-but he’d gotten to just...run around outside. Roman had run, and run fast, to the very edge of the territory’s border, breathing in the dry, metallic air. The air was always colder on Mars and it was invigorating, in the same way Roman assumed climbing a very high mountain must be.

But even better, because he was on freakin’  _ Mars _ . 

The land wasn’t bare, like humans had thought for so long; it was just alive in a different way. The plants grew on less water than things needed on Earth, and thrived with more sunlight, evolved perfectly to their home, and absolutely stunning-the flowers like streaks of bright white and blue and green, on white and red stalks. He didn’t know anything about them, but he adored them. And the animals, as well. He and Bobby and Braun had all hung out one night right at dusk and seen an animal that Roman could only describe as a massive armadillo-bison. It had run away upon seeing them, but they were all struck silent at the sight of it.

Even the bugs were interesting, and Roman made sure to catch any that got inside, carefully placing them back outside instead of killing them.

“Roman!”

Roman blinked, heading into the kitchen. Natalya, Ruby, Sarah, Baron, and Ricochet were all sitting or standing in various spots in the kitchen, and Sarah tossed him a drink-non-alcoholic, as they weren’t allowed to inebriate themselves in any way, but good nonetheless. 

“How was the call home?”

Roman opened the drink and sighed.   
“Not long enough.”   
“They never are.”   
Roman took a drink and smiled in sympathy. He knew Ruby and Sarah were missing their girlfriend something fierce, but he was happy they at least got to call her together.

“So you guys ready for this mission?”

A round of groans were the response to Baron’s question. 

“If it’s anything like the missions I had on tour...not really.”

Roman cleared his throat.

“Uh….I know I’m the only one here without-you know, experience-what should I be expecting?”

Everyone kind of looked at each other before Sarah shrugged.

“Honestly, with this team, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Everyone works well together, you just gotta stay calm and not let any of it get to you.”   
“Shit, yeah, dude, you don’t have any combat experience, do you?”

Roman shook his head, lips pressed into a tight line of an almost-smile.

“Nope. Unless you count football. And a couple of fights.”

“I doubt we’re gonna see any combat on these missions. They are just diplomatic visits-”

“As far as we know.”

Natalya shot a look at Ricochet before continuing.

“-and those usually go pretty smoothly, unless one person in particular has it out for the person. You’ll do fine, Roman. And-hey, you may not have experience in the field, but I have never seen someone excel in every possible stage of testing like you have.”

Baron nodded.

“Yeah, you’re kinda meant for this.”

Roman didn’t know how he felt about that comment. He didn’t want to be ‘meant for’ the military, he didn’t really see how anyone would want to be, even surrounded by active servicemembers. Not that he didn’t hold a great deal of respect for people in the military, he just...didn’t trust authorities and organizations like that. Roman finished up his drink and tossed the can it came in into the recycling bin.

“Sorry to ditch out, but I’mma get some sleep. Night!”

A chorus of ‘good night’s from everyone and Roman headed to his room, changing into his sleep clothes and not bothering to shower, he always could do that in the morning, and laying down. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed, before looking over at the picture of his daughter. 

Roman was man enough to admit that one of the reasons being apart from her hit him so hard was because this job, this paramilitary operation, was dangerous. He’d hate for something to happen to him and for his promise to be broken; he wanted to come back to Lotu someday, or even to bring her up to Mars, to show his daughter the wonders of the red planet. Roman kissed his fingertips and pressed them to the picture, turning the lights off and laying on his side, curling up and trying to sleep.

\---

Roman did like the outfit, if nothing else. It suited him well; thick, black cargo pants, black boots that fit perfectly, and a vest that left his arms uncovered-or so it seemed. He traced his fingers over his arm again, seeing the ripple of energy from the nanotech armor covering his body. He reached up and ran his hands over the tight braid his hair had been expertly put in by Tommaso, of all people. 

They were getting ready to board the transport to the hangar where the diplomat would be landing soon, and Roman wasn’t particularly excited about it. He wasn’t anxious, either, but he still felt odd about being a part of this group.

It just paid too damn much to turn down.

“Alright everyone, on the transport!”   
Heyman’s voice was loud and a bit shrill, and Roman boarded along with everyone else, ending up sitting next to Natalya. She nudged him with her elbow.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Natalya smiled at him and patted his knee. She was becoming a bit of a mentor to him, along with Titus-he’d helped Roman through training, especially with weapons and combat, and Roman had been unbelievably grateful for the help from both of them. He recognized that he needed it. 

The ride didn’t take terribly long-the transports were fast-moving, thankfully-and they got off the transport, led into the hangar by Heyman. The diplomat’s ship hadn’t landed yet, but it would soon, and Roman took his spot at his post quietly, waiting, watching. The hangar had been cleared of people apart from the personnel needed to run equipment, and Roman made sure to keep an eye on them, too. He supposed one of the things that made him a good fit for this was that quiet watchfulness he had; he’d always had it, he’d always liked to observe people and he was good at noticing things that were out of place.

Nothing so far. 

“ _ Reigns, check. _ ”

Roman just barely tilted his head to the side.

“Clear.”

He watched as the top of the hangar opened up and the ship landed-a slow process, but interesting to watch. It was a long few minutes before the ship’s door opened, a man flanked by two others walking out. Heyman stepped up and greeted the man in the middle-Roman supposed he was the diplomat.

“Hello, Mister Bischoff.”

“Mister Heyman.”

They talked a bit before Heyman introduced Brock and A.J directly-they were designated as the leaders on this team-all of them heading out to the private transport that would be between two others, which would hold various members of the team. Roman climbed onto the vehicle and took his seat-this time next to Sonya. The ride back was equally quiet, though ‘calm’ wasn’t exactly the right word; there was tension in the air, everything charged with energy-Roman guessed that that came from not knowing if there was going to be any problems. They were heading to a pseudo-city that the humans had set up to conduct any business that needed to be done on Mars. 

Roman quietly, but heavily exhaled through his nose. Capitalism rolls on.

They came to a stop and Roman was happy to walk into the sunlight. He really did prefer being outside, especially under the bright, clear skies of Mars. Roman followed Tommaso and Sonya to the post and looked around. There were people around, not many, but enough to make get Roman’s nerves up. He scanned over the area and spotted a man who made something in Roman’s head tick just so. 

“A.J, check. Guy at my eleven, about ten yards away, looks suspicious.”

“ _ Got it. Randy, on his six _ .”

Roman watched as Randy came around in a long circle, until he was behind the guy, on a slightly higher ground. 

“ _ Can’t see any weapons, but that doesn’t mean he ain’t packing _ .”   
Roman took a deep breath, scanning around again. There wasn’t anyone else who immediately stood out, and he felt alright focusing on the man for a while. He was big, Roman could tell that from here. Definitely a miner, from the look of his clothes. His expression-even from so far away-looked like someone who was angry and trying hard not to show it. If he’d just looked angry, Roman wouldn’t have thought much of it, but the man looked like he was trying to appear inconspicuous.

That made Roman nervous.

The diplomat-Bischoff, his name was-finally made his way out of the transport he was in, and the man Roman had pointed out sat up straighter, watching closely. Bischoff made his way, along with Heyman, into the nearest building, and the man stood, moving quickly towards them. 

“ _ He’s on the move _ -”

The man began running towards Bischoff and Roman didn’t think before running at him, bending just before he hit the man’s bulk and knocking him down. Roman turned him onto his front and kneeled on one of his wrists, grabbing the other and yanking back until he dropped the small gun in his hand, and he quickly maneuvered his hands back to put them in the cuffs they’d all been provided.

“Roman-”

Roman turned and looked up at the sound of A.J’s accented voice, and he blushed, clearing his throat and hauling the man under him to a standing position.

“Uh-he had a gun. Guess he was packing after all.”

Bischoff and Heyman, with Brock in tow, walked up to them next. Bischoff looked at the man who’d run at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Disgruntled ex-employee. How original.”

Baron and Dana came up to them, dragging the man away as he yelled and spit at Bischoff, who turned to look at Roman. Roman straightened his back and cleared his throat again, and Bischoff looked him up and down. 

“Thank you, young man.”

“It’s my job, sir.”

“What’s your name?”

Roman glanced at A.J and Brock and Heyman before swallowing.

“Roman Reigns.”   
“Learn that tackle in the military?”

“Uh-no, football.”

Bischoff smirked, and Roman felt weirdly annoyed.

“Very nice. Thank you again. Paul, you’ve got a good man here.”

“Mister Reigns has certainly proven himself a valuable asset, yes.”

Roman kept his face flat, not letting them see his distaste at being referred to as ‘valuable’ and an ‘asset’-he wasn’t an asset, he was a person. Things like that were one of the reasons he didn’t like the military. Bischoff patted him on the arm and nodded and Roman went back to his post, hoping that this wouldn’t cause too much of a fuss. Tommaso and Sonya were both grinning at him when he came back.

“Wow, looking to impress the boss man?”

Roman blushed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“No, I’m just...trying to do the job I was given.”

“ _ Guys, don’t pick on Roman. He did well _ .”

Roman appreciated Titus’ voice in his ear, and Sonya and Tommaso did stop after that. The rest of the mission-just accompanying Bischoff to where he’d be staying for the night before heading home tomorrow-went smoothly, and before Roman knew it, they were heading back to the barracks. 

He walked in after Sonya and was greeted by a rather loud cheer. 

“Dude that was amazing!”

Ricochet threw an arm around Roman’s shoulders, and Roman just stared. Shayna laughed.

“You took his ass down, man, gonna have to teach me that tackle.”

“It certainly was something.”

Charlotte winked at Roman, and Roman ducked his head down, blushing at the praise and attention. He wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable with it, but he did try to keep modest. He didn’t think he did anything particularly impressive or interesting, he just...knocked a guy down.

“Roman, may I see you for a moment?”

Everyone did seem a little less excited at the sound of A.J’s voice, but Roman nodded, following him into the hallway.

“Next time something like that happens, you need to wait for me or Brock to call it.”

Roman’s brow furrowed and he narrowed his eyes a little.

“If I’d waited, he would’ve only gotten closer.”

“It doesn’t matter, no one acts unilaterally on this team.”

“How am I supposed to do anything else if you don’t make the call?”

A.J sighed. 

“You’re not military, but you played football, yeah? Would you go against something your coach or captain told you to do?”

“If I knew the better plan, maybe. And that only works if your coach is actually giving you plays.”

A.J looked….very displeased with him, and Roman closed his eyes and sighed, letting his shoulders drop.

“I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t-I’m not trying to start a fight, or to-be insubordinate, or anything like that. I’ve never done anything like this, and I’m not sure if-I think maybe I’m not used to having to take such direct orders on everything I do. I’m sorry for getting an attitude with you. I’ll wait for the call from you or Brock in the future.”

A.J stared at him for a long minute, and Roman kept his gaze, keeping his posture calm and relaxed. A.J sighed and brought a hand up to rub at his forehead.

“I shouldn’t have gotten onto you so hard. You did good today, and hell, I remember what it’s like to be new. You really are a good fit for this team, and-everyone might be a little off, right at the start. Just-like I said, wait for us next time.”

Roman nodded and A.J went off back to the main room, and Roman turned to see Charlotte making her way towards him.

“Get chewed out by the captain?”

Roman took a deep breath that turned into a half-laugh, and he leaned against the wall.

“Yeah, kinda.”

Charlotte leaned on the wall opposite him, mirroring his posture. 

“That seems stupid. You took action, you were fast, efficient, you didn’t draw it out. No overkill or anything. You just did your job. Better than I’ve seen some actual military do it, too.”

Roman ducked his head down, reaching up and brushing a stray strand of hair behind his ear.

“I really don’t think I did all that great. Just tackled a guy. Hell, I’ve done-did all that at a club once, honestly. Not like I can do all that fancy shit you do.”

Charlotte laughed, throwing her head back a little.

“Gymnastics isn’t all that fancy.”

She moved from the wall and stood closer to him, and Roman licked his lips. She really was stunning, and Roman looked into her beautiful blue-grey eyes.

“But, fancy or not, you really did do well today. I think everyone was really impressed, as they should be.”

Roman bit his lip and smiled. 

“Thanks.”

“No problem, handsome.”

Roman shook his head, quietly laughing. Charlotte was still standing near him, and he smiled at the closeness.

“Hey, would….do you wanna have dinner together?”

“Don’t we always?”

“I know, but-I mean...you and me, together. Not with everyone else.”

Charlotte’s cheeks flushed a gorgeous shade of pink, and she pulled her ponytail over one shoulder.

“Are you asking me on a date?”

Roman licked his lips again, and Charlotte-he didn’t know if she meant to or not-stepped just a few inches closer.

“Yeah. I am.”

“Meet you in the main hall in an hour?”

“Sounds perfect.”

Charlotte turned and headed off to her room, Roman letting his eyes travel up and down her body as she did.

“See you then, handsome!”

\---

Bobby sat down heavily and groaned, Braun sitting across from him and Roman. Roman kept chewing on his food, smiling in sympathy at his friend.

“You good, dude?”

“Tired.”

That was understandable. A few people had been sent home due to mysterious injuries-part of one section of a mine had collapsed, and no one was injured too terribly, but no one could figure out how the mine collapsed, and it meant that everyone else had to work extra hard. An extra two hours each day to make up until they could replace the workers who’d been sent home.

Roman glanced over to another table at the cafeteria; Charlotte caught his gaze and smiled at him. Roman returned the smile right back and she ducked her head down, a few pieces of long, blonde hair falling in her face. 

“Oooh, look at you, loverboy!”   
Roman picked a piece of carrot out of his food and threw it at Braun.

“Shut up.”

“So you two officially together?”

Roman laughed a little.    
“I guess? We’re not putting a lot of pressure on it.”

And they really weren’t. Roman and Charlotte had been doing as close to an approximation of dating as they could manage on Mars; having dinner together almost every night, laying in bed and watching the little televisions in their rooms and talking. It was...really nice. Roman hadn’t dated since he was with Sasha, which had been more than a year ago, and he worried that he was out of practice, but Charlotte didn’t seem to be complaining.

“Aww, lovebirds on Mars. How cute!”

Roman rolled his eyes. His friends were ridiculous. 

\---

Roman turned off his drill, filling the container with mineral and sending it off on the line to the various sorters and refiners. He wiped at the sweat on his forehead and went back to work. 

He really didn’t hate his job, but he hated being underground so much. Roman was the type of person who loved sunshine and light and open air, and the mines were not the ideal place for that mindset. Everything else about the job was just fine; he liked how physical it was, he liked the pay-all of it except for a little bit every week went home, right to Sasha and Lotu-he liked his coworkers and he didn’t hate his bosses. 

Roman sighed through his mask and heard a crash.

He turned off his equipment and ran through the other miners to find where the sound had come from, eyes going wide as he saw Braun holding up a piece of-well, an entire piece of the wall. 

“There’s people back there but this is trying to collapse!”

Roman nodded, stripping the bulky part of his uniform off and slipping through the opening, two other miners helping Braun hold the wall-Roman wouldn’t forget how impressive a show of strength that was on Braun’s part, having prevented the immediate collapse on his own. Roman moved his way through the small space and found the two miners that had been digging it out, both of them smaller guys, and both of them knocked out. There was a noise to his left and Roman watched as a smaller tunnel, a fresh one, closed, giving him just the shortest glimpse of something moving farther down it.

He didn’t take time to ponder on what that was, he just grabbed the miners and threw them over his shoulders, crawling back out through the opening. Braun grunted as they were finally able to let the weight down, and Roman made his way through the people again, getting to the elevator as quickly as he could and heading up to the surface. Hunter and Finlay were waiting for him, undoubtedly having been alerted to the collapse. Roman only set the two men down once the medics were ready, and he gasped, finally feeling the sting on his arms where some of the more corrosive minerals in the walls of the mine had touched his bare skin. Finlay left with the medics and the two injured workers, and Hunter led Roman off to a smaller medical tent that treated the myriad of tiny wounds that the miners often got. 

“What happened?”

Roman looked up at Hunter as his wounds were cleaned and shrugged.

“Not sure. Heard a crash and when I got there, the new tunnel they were digging had started to collapse. It wasn’t on them, though, from what I could see they did everything right. There was….”

Roman shut his mouth, looking away from Hunter.

“What?”

“There was...something down there, I guess. I didn’t-I didn’t really see what it was, but it-I think it dug a tunnel, knocked the guys out, fucked up the mine walls and tunneled back out.”

Hunter seemed to contemplate that as the medic finished up on Roman’s arms, and he asked the medic to leave. Roman swallowed and sat, waiting or Hunter to talk.

“Thank you for doing what you did, Roman. You’ve really stood out from the crowd, right from the start.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Hunter stared at Roman for a moment, before reaching out and patting him on the back.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

Roman knew he made a face, but he couldn’t help it.

“Uh...I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but-no thank you. I can still stand, so I can still work.”

Hunter huffed out a laugh. 

“Admirable. Alright. Don’t push yourself too hard, Roman.”

Roman nodded, heading back to the entrance of the mine and pulling his mask back on. One of his coworkers-a nice guy named Johnny-handed him the part of his uniform that he’d left underground, and he quickly re-dressed, getting back to work, thinking about the-whatever it was that he’d caught a glimpse of in the tunnel. 

\---

“-and the workers on Mars are still going strong, even with the series of unexplained accidents-”

Roman sighed, and Charlotte turned her head to look at him.

“You okay?”

Roman looked at her, smiling, and squeezed his arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, just...thinking about all of that.”

“The accidents?”

Roman nodded, and Charlotte hummed. He’d been told, after the collapse he’d been involved in, not to discuss what he’d seen with anyone. Apparently, Hunter was having it looked into, but he didn’t want anyone to go sharing ghost stories. Not that that worked, word spread around of strange sounds in the mines and territories, unusual footprints popping up around important equipment. It could mean a lot of things, from sabotage to Martian wildlife thinking various cables and cords looked tasty.

Charlotte shivered a little and Roman frowned.

“You cold?”

“A little. Martian air doesn’t agree with me.”

Roman pulled his arm away from her and pulled his hoodie off, handing it to her. 

“Here.”

Charlotte smiled and pulled the jacket on-it was much, much bigger on her, and she wrapped herself up in it. Roman grinned and wrapped his arm back around her shoulders, pulling her close. 

“Gross, y’all’re such a couple now.”

Roman rolled his eyes at Shayna’s comment. They were in the main room of the barracks, watching the news, Shayna dazzling Baron and Apollo with her card tricks while Dana, Titus, and Sonya all cooked dinner. Everyone had worked into a sort of rhythm and routine, taking turns cooking dinner-except for Brock, but that didn’t shock Roman-and they all hung out together most nights. It was nice. Roman still wasn’t a huge fan of Randy, and he didn’t yet have any great affection for A.J either, but still.

Charlotte leaned on Roman more fully, and he moved his other hand to grab one of hers. He had missed dating, and Charlotte was fun to spend time with. She didn’t put pressure on him to make it serious, both of them happy to keep things fairly casual for the time being. 

Charlotte leaned in enough to lightly kiss his neck, and he grinned. Casual didn’t mean they couldn’t have some good old-fashioned carnal fun, though. 

“Ew, keep that to your rooms.”

Roman laughed. Shayna had expressed being aromantic and asexual, and she thrived on making jokes about disliking romance and sex. Charlotte and Roman had, obviously, become a great source of inspiration for her.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Roman looked at Charlotte; her cheeks were pink, her lips parted just a bit, and he bit at his own. He stood, holding onto Charlotte’s hand. 

“We’ll be back in a bit.”

There were a few wolf-whistles and catcalls from the various people, Randy asking loudly if he could watch, as Roman led Charlotte to his room. They locked the door behind them, and Roman pressed Charlotte up against it, exhaling heavily at the feeling of her body against his own. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, grinning and pulling him in for a kiss. They’d kissed plenty before this, and Roman adored it each time. He cupped the back of her neck, his other hand going down to her thigh, gripping right under the curve of her ass. She slipped her tongue past his lips, moaning into his mouth. Roman broke the kiss and panted, resting his forehead against hers.

“Fuck-you wanna-”

“Yeah-take me to bed, handsome-”

Roman grinned, lifting her up easily and carrying her the few feet to his bed, laying over her, leaning in to kiss at her neck. He brushed her hair out of the way, his other hand pushing up her shirt and his jacket, trailing his fingers over her mostly-flat stomach. Charlotte let out a sweet, quiet whimper, and Roman smiled against her skin.

“You like that?”

“Keep going-”

Roman pressed his lips back against her skin, sucking on one spot intently, leaning on one arm and using his other hand to squeeze at her tits, his thumb brushing over the hard point of her nipple. She cried out and arched her back, wrapping one leg around his waist, and he pulled away from her neck. 

“I-shit, I don’t think we have any rubbers or anything-”

“That’s fine-we don’t need them-”

Roman tilted his head, frowning. 

“What do you mean?”

Charlotte averted her gaze for a long moment, and Roman reached up, cupping her face. 

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I had-I can’t get pregnant, at all-I had a hysterectomy-”

Roman swallowed. She seemed ashamed of that, and he leaned down, softly kissing her lips. 

“Charlotte-”   
“I know, but-let’s talk about that later, I want you-”

Roman kissed her again, sitting up and taking his shirt off. Charlotte took the opportunity to strip the hoodie off, then her own shirt, leaving her chest completely bared to him. Roman stayed sitting up, one hand at her hip, the other teasing at the button on her jeans.

“I haven’t done this in a while-”

“That’s okay, baby, I’m more than fine with you taking your time-”

Roman grinned and cupped her through her jeans, watching as she gasped. 

“There is something I really missed doing.”

“Fuck-Roman, feel free to show instead of tell-”

Roman leaned down, kissing and licking a trail down her chest, making sure to stop and lavish her tits in affection, wrapping his lips around one nipple at a time and sucking, barely letting his teeth brush over them. They seemed sensitive, and Roman was very intent on exploiting that. He squeezed and fondled them, moaning around the tiny, pink buds. He let one hand free to unbutton her jeans, unzipping them and pushing them down. He sat up and dragged them down the rest of the way, along with her panties, groaning at the sight of her totally bared body.

“God, you’re beautiful-”

“You’re not too bad yourself-”

Roman tied his hair back, to keep it out of the way, and he moved down the bed enough to settle between her legs. He kissed at her stomach, over the dark hair on her mound, practically drooling at the sight of her. Roman looked up at her as he kissed right at the hood of her vulva, and Charlotte whimpered, tangling her fingers in his hair. 

“Roman-oh-”

Roman smiled and kissed at the folds of her cunt again, just barely licking over them, the tip of his tongue dipping between them. He had to moan at the taste, he really had missed oral sex, and he licked her more firmly, using his tongue in broad, flat strokes over the soft skin. He could feel the hard nub of her clit against his tongue on every stroke and he took just a second to tease at it, flicking the very tip of his tongue over it. Roman moved his arms under her thighs, pulling her closer to him so he could properly bury the muscle inside of her. 

“Oh-oh my God-”

Roman couldn’t help but smile against her. He knew he was damn good at this, as he pulled back just enough to suck at the folds of skin, moaning, letting her feel the vibrations from the sound. He moved one hand back between her legs, using two fingers to spread her open.

“You-fuck, you taste amazing-”

Charlotte’s head was thrown back, her spine arched gracefully, and Roman looked up to watch her expression as he went back at her, pressing the tip of his tongue against her entrance. He knew that spot was sensitive and easy to tease, and he took his time, licking up every drop of slick as he did. 

“Fucking-God, Rome-please-”

Roman dragged his tongue over her again, pulling away and kissing at her thigh.

“Wanna come on my mouth, baby?”

“Please-yes-”

Roman sucked at her clit for just a second, still not paying too much attention to it, and he slowly pressed as much of his tongue as possible into her, moaning again, the tightness of her cunt around it making his cock throb. He needed relief, but he was willing to wait for it, wanting her to come first. Roman thrust his tongue in and out, properly fucking her with it, bringing one hand up to rub at her clit. 

“Nnn-Roman-oh-fuck-oh do that-more, please, fuck-”

Roman rubbed her clit harder, working his tongue faster, thrusting against the bed as he did. He felt her cunt start to tighten and pulse and he did everything he could to push her over the edge, until he heard her cry out and felt a flood of wetness against his tongue, sucking the slick down and whimpering. He kept at her for a few moments, kissing at her cunt as she came down from the orgasm. He grinned and moved back up the bed, kissing up over her stomach and chest as he did, finally pressing his lips to her throat, then her mouth. She didn’t hesitate to kiss back, undoubtedly tasting herself on him.

“Mmm-did that feel good, baby?”

Charlotte looked gorgeous, and a little dazed.

“That was….wow.”

Roman laughed, the sound turning into a gasp when she reached down and grabbed his cock through his sweats. 

“Oh-Char, you don’t have to-”

Charlotte reached up with her other hand and gripped his chin, and Roman immediately relaxed-he’d always been a little submissive in bed, and that felt like an intoxicating little show of power. 

“Fuck me.”

Roman nodded, kissing her again as she pushed his pants down and he got them off the rest of the way, gripping the base of his cock and rubbing the head against the folds of her cunt.

“You sure, baby?”

“Yes, fuck-God, that’s gonna feel amazing inside me-”

Roman gasped as he thrusted into her, not all the way, not at first, and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Fuck-”

“Y-yeah-c’mon, Roman-”

Roman looked down between them, moving his hips forward, thrusting deeper until he was fully buried inside her. 

“Nn-oh-”

“Mm-you’re so big, baby-oh-”

Roman took a second to catch his breath-it had been so long since he’d been with someone like this, he forgot how amazing it felt. He licked his lips and shifted his position, putting his weight on his knees for leverage, rocking his hips forward, every thrust sharp, but slow. Charlotte wrapped her arms around his shoulders, scratching the nails of one hand over his back, the other hand at the back of his head, fingers tangling in his hair. Roman kissed Charlotte’s cheek, nuzzling her hair as he kept his pace slow. He didn’t want to rush this. Charlotte gasped and grinned, and Roman couldn’t help but smile, too.

“Roman-oh-this feels so good-”

Roman reached one hand up and stroked his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head and kissing her, moaning into her mouth as he thrusted a little harder, rolling his hips and biting at her lips. The feeling of her cunt wrapped around his cock, warm and soft and wet was almost too much, too fast. He moved his hand from her hair down to her chest, stroking his thumb over one of her nipples, swallowing down the little gasp she let out at the stimulation. He pulled away from the kiss to watch her expression as he snapped his hips forward a few times, changing the pace for just a few seconds.

“Oh! Oh-Roman-”

“Mm-Charlotte-fuck-you like that, baby? Oh-”   
Charlotte reached down with one hand and gripped his ass, trying to encourage him to move a little faster, a little harder, and he grinned, kissing her jaw. He sat up on his knees, wrapping his hands under her thighs before she reached up and put her hands on his chest, stopping him. She pulled off of him, Roman quietly whining at the loss of sensation. Charlotte straddled him, easily sinking back down onto his cock, and Roman wrapped his arms around her waist. She moaned as she started moving up and down on his cock, Roman gripping just under her ass, thrusting his hips up into her. 

“God-Charlotte-’m gonna come-oh-”   
“Do it, Roman-come inside me-fuck fuck-”   
Charlotte tightened around him again, her arms clinging around his shoulders, and Roman cried out, burying his face against her chest. His cock pulsed over and over, shocks of pleasure shooting through his body as he rode out his orgasm. He tangled his fingers in her hair, holding her close as they both caught their breath. Roman had to smile, though, and he gently kissed at her chest and collarbone. She stroked her hand over his head and pulled his hair out of the tie. 

“W-wow.”   
“Yeah-I’m-yeah.”   
Charlotte raised herself up on shaky legs and Roman grinned, pushing her to lay on her back. He leaned down, burying his face against her cunt and licking up his own come as it dripped out. He felt her lightly smack his head and he smiled, licking deeper into her.

“Oh-uhnn-fuck, Rome, cut it out-I only have so much energy in me-”

Roman pulled away after sucking at the soft skin of her cunt one more time, kissing over her mound, then her stomach, in a line up her chest until he could press kisses to her jaw and cheeks and lips. Roman let his body press against Charlotte’s and he nuzzled her cheek, sighing and laying partially on top of her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his head, stroking her long fingers over his back.

“That really was...amazing. I haven’t had sex in forever, let alone good sex.”

Roman hummed. 

“Mmm. Me too. Haven’t-not since I conceived a kid.”

That made Charlotte quietly giggle, and Roman had to kiss her cheek again, wrapping his arms around her and cuddling with her. He had missed this, too, just quiet intimacy and sweetness. 

“We’re gonna have to get up for dinner, Roman. You know none of them are gonna leave us anything to eat.”

Roman rested his chin on her shoulder, looking up at her with big, wide eyes.

“Want me to get us some and bring it back?”

Charlotte cupped his face with both hands, squeezing his cheeks a little.

“You are absolutely darling, did you know that?”

Roman blushed, averting his eyes and smiling. He felt extraordinarily soft, in the midst of all the harshness of his jobs. And Roman preferred that; he was tough, yes, and strong, but he was a softie at heart. He kissed Charlotte once more before standing and getting dressed, heading out to the kitchen to get food for him and his girlfriend.

\---

Roman panted, but pushed harder. He could see out in his peripheral that everyone else had stopped, but he wasn’t going to. They were doing a drill that was basically exactly what he’d done in football, but with gravity weights on their ankles, waists, and arms. It wasn’t easy, but he wasn’t going to give up. Roman hated giving up. He gritted his teeth and forced his body to work against the weights, the pull of the extra gravity, letting out a roar as he rushed past the last few yards with a burst of energy. He finally dropped to the ground, sweat dripping down his face. Roman pulled his shirt off and wiped his head with it, the gravity weights having finally shut off. His body ached all over, all the way to his bones, and he flopped onto his back on the ground. 

He only opened his eyes when he felt someone staring at him. Hunter, Paul, Brock, and A.J were all staring at him. 

“Sorry, didn’t-didn’t mean to slack off, I just needed to catch my breath-”

“We weren’t gonna scold you, Roman. We just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

A.J and Brock helped Roman up, and he stretched his arms and legs, bouncing on his feet a few times, taking stock of his body. Everything seemed in order, functional. There were no drastic pains, no chest pains or anything like that. Just achy muscles and a lot of sweat. 

“Uh-yeah, I feel fine, so far. Just-warm, I guess.”

“That was an impressive show, Mister Reigns.”

Roman ducked his head down. Paul had actually proven himself to be...not terrible, over the past few weeks. Still not really a person Roman wanted anything to do with for the most part, but he and Roman had a level of respect for one another that Roman still hadn’t achieved with Brock. 

“T-thank you. Just wanted to do the drill right.”

He glanced up, and saw the other four men looking at each other. Roman swallowed and stepped back.

“May I go get something to drink?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Roman nodded and left to where his other team members were resting, and took the drink Charlotte held out to him with a smile. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before drinking, and he had to pace himself. He knew it’d mess up his stomach if he drank it all in one go. 

“So is there anything you can’t do, Superman?”

Roman rolled his eyes. The rest of the team, apart from their captains, had taken to calling him that. He didn’t think it was terribly apt, Roman wasn’t superhuman or anything near it. He kept sipping at his drink, wiping his sweat away with his shirt, listening to his friends and teammates talk amongst themselves. He let his eyes close for a second, happy to have a moment of respite from the day-long testing. 

“Roman? Mr. McMahon is calling for you.”

Roman opened his eyes and kept his face impassive, not willing to show the worry on his face. Vince had gone back to Earth after the first two weeks or so, and he rarely called anyone other than Hunter and Stephanie. He didn’t know why the hell McMahon would want to speak to him specifically, but he followed Hunter and Paul to a transport, sitting behind them on the way to the main administrative office. They didn’t speak, Roman was happy to just catch his breath and continue to cool down from the drills and exercises they’d been doing all day. The transport didn’t take long, and Roman followed Hunter and Paul unto Hunter’s office. Roman sat in a chair in front of the desk and Hunter turned on the screen on his wall, Vince’s face popping up. 

“Good afternoon, Mister Reigns.”   
“Hello, Mister McMahon. I hope you’re well.”   
Might as well be polite.

“Hunter and Paul have been telling me a lot about you and your work up there. I’m more than impressed.”   
Vince always cut to the chase. Roman kept his face clear, but ducked his head down slightly.

“I’m just trying to do my job, sir.”

Roman looked into the screen; Vince was smiling, just barely, and Roman didn’t like being under that gaze. 

“Well, from what I’ve heard, you’re not just doing your job, you’re excelling at it. I have a special assignment I’d like to give you.”   
Roman frowned slightly, his eyebrows drawing closer just a bit.

“What kind of assignment is it?”

“I saw that look, don’t worry. It’s not an assassination, or anything unseemly. There’s a general coming to speak to one of the leaders of the Martian forces, and I’d like for you to be his personal bodyguard for the duration of his trip.”

Roman glanced at Hunter, and at Paul. He rubbed at his elbow for a moment, averting his gaze from all three men.

“Uh-I-I appreciate the opportunity, but-wouldn’t someone like Brock or A.J be more suited to this kind of thing?”

“Maybe. But I see something special in you, I wanna see if we can get it to thrive. If it helps, there is a large bonus that would come with the assignment, and we could send it directly to Miss Banks and your daughter.”

Roman’s head whipped up at that and his back straightened. 

“How large?”

He didn’t want to sound greedy, but-while the money he made was helping them, it still wasn’t enough to get them a truly better life, to get them into a safer neighborhood, to get them a home. Vince smiled more fully now, and God, Roman still really didn’t like that expression.

“Twenty thousand. If you’re willing.”

Roman’s eyes widened before he could control his reaction. That….would definitely help. He and Sasha had saved up a lot of money beforehand, because he’d wanted her to buy a house so Lotu wouldn’t have to move whenever the lease was up, and that could give them enough, with just a few more months of Roman’s salary on top. 

He nodded. He felt a bit like a sell-out, but...it was for his daughter. 

\---

Roman laid on the ground, looking up at the night sky. It was just as beautiful here as it was on Earth. He looked up at the stars, and they looked different here-they were the same stars, Roman knew that, but the perspective was different here. On Mars. On goddamn  _ Mars _ . 

He started his new assignment in the morning, when the general arrived. He had asked around the team if any of them knew him, and a few did. Most had nothing but good to say about General Austin, though Brock seemed to dislike him. But seeing as to how Brock seemed to dislike almost everyone, that didn’t surprise Roman. He closed his eyes, smiling at the thought of Sasha and his daughter. They’d had a call that morning, and Sasha had spent a lot of it crying, happily, over the possibility of soon getting a real home for their daughter. After having done the math together, she’d be able to start looking within a month. The thought kept Roman warm in the chill of the Martian night. He sighed, knowing he’d have to go inside soon, and he jumped suddenly at the sensation of something touching his arm. Roman shot up and moved back, his eyes wide at the sight of a-he didn’t know what to call it. It was a...Roman couldn’t even really describe it. It was about the size of a pit bull, and had reddish-brown skin, that looked mottled in places. It was the same color as the dirt, and its mouth dropped open, two long tongues hanging out. It didn’t seem threatening, and Roman calmed his posture. 

He sat, cross-legged, in front of it. It tilted its somewhat-flat head and sat as well.

“Hi.”

It tilted its head again, and Roman blinked.

“Wonder what you are.”   
The creature laid flat on its front, crawling forward towards Roman, until it could sniff at him and lick his hands. It was….an odd sensation, similar to what a dog would do, but much colder. Roman laughed when the creature flopped onto its side, looking up at him with both tongues still sticking out. 

“Whatever you are, you’re pretty cute.”

Roman reached out and gently patted the creature on the side, and it made a weird sort of trilling sound. It was almost like a bird noise, and Roman gently petted the creature for a while, until he looked at his badge and saw the time. 

“Shit. I gotta go, buddy, but-I hope I see you again.”

Roman stood, turning and walking back to the barracks, stopping when he heard a noise. He looked down, and saw that the creature was following close behind him.

“Uh-buddy, I think you gotta stay out here. Don’t think I’m allowed to bring in strays.”

He took another few steps and the creature followed, still. Roman sighed.

“Well...okay, then. You can’t come inside with me, but-you can come back to the barracks.”

Roman led the creature back, finding the window to his room. He kneeled on the ground and patted the dirt, and the creature laid down in front of him.

“This is my window, so you’re right next to me, alright? Maybe I can convince my captains to let me keep you inside sometimes. Good night, buddy.”

The creature licked his hand more, trilling and settling into the dirt. He was surprised it listened so well, but he didn’t know that much about Martian wildlife. Maybe they were smarter than he thought. He headed back inside, yawning and passing by Titus, Apollo, Sonya, and Tommaso, all of them watching tv.

“You heading to bed?”

“Yeah. Got a long day tomorrow.”

“Go get some rest, Superman.”

Roman said goodnight to his teammates, heading to his room and flopping onto his bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable mattress, but after a long day of work, it felt like a cloud. He felt something under his hip, and grabbed it. One of Charlotte’s shirts. Roman smiled and sighed, holding it to his face. He turned his head, pressing a kiss to his fingertips, and then pressing them to the picture of Lotu before laying his head down and quickly falling asleep.

\---

Roman sat and waited patiently for Tommaso to finish braiding his hair. He’d done it for all of the people with long hair on the team before every mission, and was doing it now for Roman’s private mission. Natalya and Titus sat in front of him, both eagerly leaning forward.

“You have everything, right?”

“Yes.”

“You have the debriefing memorized?”

“Every last word.”

“And you’re sure you want to do this? Absolutely, one-hundred percent, you’re comfortable with this?”

Roman smiled at Natalya and Titus. 

“I’m sure. This is going to be good for my family, that’s why I came here in the first place. Plus...I mean, the experience will be good to have, right?”

Titus frowned. 

“Probably, yes, but this might be a lot for someone who just got into this kind of job.”   
Roman tilted his head down as much as he could while Tommaso worked on his hair. 

“I’m going to try my hardest to do my best. I’m taking this very seriously, I don’t...I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“Aw…”

“We know, Roman. You’re gonna do great, we just worry.”

Roman smiled and Tommaso patted his head.

“Done.”

“Thank you. And thank you, Titus, Nattie, I….I don’t think I could do any of this without you.”

Roman stood, as did his teammates-his friends, more appropriately, and he grinned as Charlotte approached him.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

“You ready to go?”

Roman wrapped his arms around Charlotte’s waist, holding her close. He leaned in and kissed at her neck, inhaling deeply.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Was hoping for a little bit of this before I left.”

He lifted his head to see Charlotte grinning, and he had to lean forward and press his lips to hers. 

“I’m gonna miss you, handsome.”

“I’m gonna miss you, too.”

They held each other for a minute, until Roman sighed. He had to leave, and this mission would keep him away for a few days, and he was already missing his girlfriend and his friends. Roman kissed Charlotte once more, saying his goodbyes, before grabbing his pack and heading out. The transport was already there, and Paul was waiting in front of it. Roman nodded at him and followed him into the vehicle. They sat, heading into the central part of the colony.

“You’re not nervous, are you?”

Roman stared at Paul for a second. 

“Of course I’m nervous. That’s not going to affect my performance.”

Paul watched him silently for a few minutes, and Roman tried not to feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like being stared at, for the most part, it always made him feel like there was something wrong with him that he didn’t know about. 

“What are your plans for after Mars?”

Roman tilted his head.

“What do you mean?”

“The mining contract lasts three years. What are your plans once the contract is up?”

Roman exhaled heavily, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m gonna go home, I guess. Get the same jobs I had beforehand, spend time raising my daughter. I haven’t thought much about it.”   
“As you begin to think about it, give some consideration to staying in the military. You really have proven yourself to be an irreplaceable asset.”

Roman ducked his head down. He still didn’t like that word-’asset’-but he supposed he couldn’t escape it. They talked over the mission for the rest of the trip, finally reaching the hangar where the general’s ship would be arriving. Roman waited where he was told to wait inside the hangar, watching as the roof opened for the ship to land. He’d never seen the general, or heard of him, so he was unsure of what to expect as the door opened.

“Goddamn, why don’t y’all sons of bitches tell people about what a pain in the ass that trip is?”

Roman’s eyes widened. That was...loud. 

“Heyman! There you are you sly sumbitch! Get over here!”

The general was dressed like Roman expected, in his dress uniform, and he was bald with a beard and a few inches shorter than Roman. 

“General Austin. Always a joy.”

“Damn right, I’m a joy to the whole world. Fill me in on what’s going on.”

Paul led the general over to where Roman stood, and Roman made sure his back was straight as could be. 

“First things first. General, this is Roman Reigns. He’ll be serving as your security force for the duration. Mister Reigns, this is General Steve Austin.”

Roman nodded and held his hand out to the general, who took it, shaking it firmly a few times. 

“Look forward to working with you, Reigns.”

“I look forward to working for you as well, General.”

“Call me Steve, I hate titles and all that bullshit.”

Paul and Steve walked side by side to the transport, Roman behind them, making sure no one was following or approaching. They were heading to the B-site colony, and the ride would take a few hours. Roman sat at the back of the transport while Paul and Steve talked. 

“Hey, Roman. Come on over here.”

Roman glanced at Paul before moving from the back to where Paul and Steve were. He sat next to Paul and cleared his throat. 

“Yes, Sir?”

“What’d I say about titles and shit like that?”

Roman blushed. 

“Sorry-Steve. Sorry.”

“You got any experience in security?”

Roman swallowed, the sound loud in his own ears.

“Uh-no, not really. This whole...job, on Mars, is my first experience with-anything in the military, and security, and things like that. I mostly was a manual laborer back home. Oh-I guess if you count throwing guys out of bars and clubs and stuff, then, yeah, I kinda have some experience.”

Paul was rubbing the bridge of his nose between two fingers and for a second Roman was worried that he’d embarrassed himself, until Steve started laughing.

“Well-well goddamn, thank the Lord. I can’t stand most soldiers at this point. You and me are gonna get along just fine, Roman. What brings you up to Mars, then? And to all this mess? One of them McMahon sumbitches convince you?”

Roman stared for a second, glancing at Paul, before clearing his throat. 

“Uh-k-kind of? I don’t-I wouldn’t say he convinced me, I just-I have a daughter on Earth, she’s only a few months old, and...this was paying better than anything on Earth. All of what I make-I send it home to her and her mother, I wanted them to have a better life. And….I kind of selfishly just....have always loved Mars. And-I saw the opportunity, to see something I’ve spent my whole life loving, while helping my family at the same time-and when Mister McMahon told me about this operation and how much it would add on….guess it just seemed like the best option.”

Roman blushed once again as the two men stared at him; Paul’s expression flat, Steve’s considering. 

“Huh. You really ain’t a soldier, are you?”

“No, Steve. I’m really not.”

Steve leaned forward, looking Roman in the eye.

“You wanna know something?”

Roman nodded. He’d take any advice he could get. Steve’s voice was quiet, for once, and serious.

“It’s for the best. I can already see that you’re not meant to be a soldier. Don’t let anyone convince you to stick with something just cause you’re good at it. Being good at something doesn’t mean jack shit if you don’t love it.”

Roman stared, wide-eyed, at the general. 

“Let’s refocus on the mission. Steve, as I was saying, you’re going to be meeting with the leader of the Martian forces-”

“Roman, you met any of the natives yet?”

“No, not yet. I didn’t think I would.”

“Me either. Let’s hope we don’t end up starting a war, huh?”

Steve laughed, and Roman just blushed, watching as Paul sighed. 

“That’s actually one of the things we needed to discuss. Etiquette will be important-”

“And they’re having you teach me? You once got your jaw broke cause you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut!”

Roman quickly covered his mouth at the giggle that tried to escape, ducking his head down at Paul’s glare. 

“Sorry, sir.”

Steve grinned at Roman as Paul went into detail on etiquette that they needed to learn. Roman was a little more excited now, after meeting Steve.

\---

The meeting place was as neutral as possible; set near the mining colony, but outside of it enough to be more comfortable for the Martians. It wasn’t even a building, so much as an intricate tent. Apparently the Martians were fans of open air. 

Roman took a deep breath, and Steve frowned.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I-I guess I’m nervous. Or-excited.”

Roman and Steve had had dinner together the night before, and gotten to know each other, and it had been….really nice. Roman didn’t know whether or not the two of them would get along, but they did, a lot, and that made Roman more confident in his work. 

“It’ll be alright. Everything I’ve heard about the natives is that they ain’t trying to start a war with us. I think they know they could wipe us all out in a second and they don’t wanna seem like hardasses in front of the rest of the galaxy.”

Roman got out of the transport first, Steve following to his side and slightly behind him before stopping as they reached the tent. He reached out and grabbed Roman’s shoulder.

“Let me go in first.”

Roman tilted his head.

“I’m supposed to-”

“I know. But this is a better message.”

Roman nodded, letting Steve step in front of him. He went through the entrance of the tent and Roman swallowed around a dry throat, following him. 

It was spacious inside, sections of wall open to let air and light in, and everything was bright and roomy, a table set close to the floor in the middle of the room. There were three people sitting on one side of it, one of whom Roman recognized from a picture he’d seen in the news once. He was the leader of the Martian army, and he was devastatingly handsome; he stood, letting Roman see him in full, he was almost as tall as Roman, clearly fit and well-built, with long dark hair. A section at the side was platinum-blond, almost white, and it only made him look all the more stunning. He walked over to Steve and Roman, making a strange gesture with both of his hands and bowing his head. 

“Hello. My name is Arc Setath of Daim, head of the Daiman army. I’ve been informed to tell you that you may call me a similar Olann-Earth, to you-name. Apparently ‘Seth’ has been the popular choice amongst the Olanns.”

Steve nodded, holding his hand out. Seth shook it, gripping Steve’s wrist instead of his hand.

“General Steve Austin of Earth. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Seth.”

“Mine as well. These are my-trainees, I believe is the equivalent in your words-Bayel and Ebre’at. They will be sitting in on the meetings in order to learn more about diplomacy and foreign contact.”

“Didn’t know we were going the teaching hospital route, but, hey, not a big deal.”

Steve gripped Roman’s shoulder and pushed him forward a little bit, Roman blushing as all three pairs of Martian eyes looked at him-Bayel’s were deep, almost-black brown like Seth’s, and Ebre’at’s were a lush, deep green unlike Roman had ever seen, until they shifted to a calm, deep blue. 

“This right here is Roman Reigns. He’s my security, I know none of y’all are looking to try anything, but my government was on my ass, ‘you don’t know for sure, you need a bodyguard’-bunch of horseshit if you ask me, but Roman is a good guy. He’s gonna be sitting in, too.”

Seth looked Roman over, one eyebrow raised. It made Roman feel oddly small and very warm. He straightened his back and held out his hand, though, unwilling to come off as nervous or rude.

“Hello. It’s-I’m very pleased to meet you, Setath. Thank you for allowing us here.”

Seth’s eyes brightened at Roman’s statement, which Roman felt a wave of relief wash over him at-he’d worried that calling Seth by his proper name would be rude, but it had felt like the right thing to do. Seth shook his hand in the same way that he’d shook Steve’s, and he actually smiled a little. 

“I believe the Olanns’ presence on Daim has been and will continue to be beneficial to all of us. It’s our-pleasure to have you.”

He hesitated, but from what Roman could tell, not from deception or putting on airs so much as he was unsure of his words. Roman moved back behind Steve, and Seth gestured to the table.

“Please, sit. We have been told that there is something happening at the mines that your people would like to discuss.”

Roman and Steve sat on the comfortable cushions, Steve shrugging off his dress jacket and making himself comfortable. 

“The incidents at the mines, yes.”

Roman perked up at that. 

“Wait-you mean the weird tunnels and collapses?”

Steve glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, and Seth, Bayel, and Ebre’at stared at him. Roman felt his face flush and he cleared his throat.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to speak out of turn, I just-I was there, during one of the first ones.”

Steve sat up.

“You didn’t mention that.”

Roman shrugged. 

“No one ever asked. And I didn’t know that was what these meetings were about.”

“Roman, what did you see?”

He turned his head to look at Seth. The Martian had a curious look on his face, and Roman swallowed, glancing at Steve for permission to speak. Steve nodded, and Roman cleared his throat. 

“There was-I was working one day, and there was a crash, and I ran over to see what had happened. My friend was holding part of the mine up and I crawled in after the two guys who’d gotten stuck, and-I saw-”

He hesitated for a moment. 

“I saw-there was this-something, that had dug a new tunnel, then collapsed the rigs holding the new mine tunnel up, and it-whatever it was ran off before I could really see it.”

Roman looked at Steve-he seemed to just be listening to Roman’s story-and then at Seth. Roman narrowed his eyes at the Martian’s expression. He was keeping his face very purposefully flat-Roman could tell he was putting effort into showing nothing, but there was a nervousness in his eyes. 

He knew something.

“Do y’all know of anything that could do that?”

Seth looked to Steve.   
“There are some creatures that live underground and utilize tunnels for travel and habitat, so I suppose that could explain it. They exist all over Daim, so it wouldn’t be a shock to me if they lived near the mines.”

“Is there any chance it could be done purposefully, by a Martian?”

Seth straightened his back, and Roman noticed a slight twitch in his shoulders. 

“There is a chance, yes. Some Daimish do disagree with the Olann presence, though none of my intelligence has reported any talks of actually harming your colonies. My people truly do not want a war with you. I’ll send out some more people to work on finding anything about any possible planned sabotage.”

Roman relaxed only slightly at the honest and earnest tone in Seth’s voice. He believed completely that the Martians were set on a peaceful existence with the people from Earth, and why wouldn’t they? It would be a fight on their own planet, likely destroying parts of it and ruining their own land. It didn’t make sense to do so. 

“If you find anything, you know where we are. Do the Martians have any concerns?”

Seth made a quiet humming sound. 

“I do not believe so, no. The Be’leora-the past bless his future-has mostly been pleased with the Olann presence, which means that the people of Daim have been pleased, as well.”

“The what?”

Seth raised an eyebrow at Steve’s question. 

“Be’leora Fahin, our leader?”

“Ah. Didn’t know he had a title, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Roman watched as Seth blushed, laughing a little. 

“Trust me, he doesn’t insist on people using it terribly often. My-uh-I think your word would be husband? He is very...light-hearted. While he takes his title and position very seriously, he understands what kind of leader Daim needs.”

“So y’all only got the one guy, huh?”

“We only need one. Daim chooses our leaders not the Daimish. The planet knows what is needed.”   
Roman tilted his head, leaning forward on the low table. 

“Excuse me, may I ask what you mean by Daim choosing?”

Seth turned his attention to Roman, leaning forward as well. Steve sat up, apparently curious as well.

“Daim is very much alive, inhabited by the spirits of the gods and our ancestors. Our leaders often are leaders for life, as they are chosen at a fairly young age by Daim, and claim the title and the power of the Be’leora-”

“What does that mean?”

Steve’s tone was rough, but not rude, as was usual for him, and Roman leaned his chin on his hands. Seth, for his part, seemed more than happy to explain. 

“Be’leora is the name of the spirits of the Old Daimish, and when our leaders are chosen, they become inhabited-possessed, I suppose, by those spirits. They become a symbol of all of Daim’s history-the wars that have been fought, the lives that have been lost, the progress that has been made. If they make too many mistakes or begin to have evil in their spirit, the Be’leora rips itself from them and chooses a new Daimish.”

Roman stared at Seth, his eyes wide with wonder.

“That’s incredible. The planet itself chooses your leaders? Are there any-parliaments, or anything like that? Governing groups under the Be’leora?”

“There are some groups like that, yes, but they’re regional, elected officials who report to the Be’leora and his assistants.”

“Wow.”

“That….sure is something.”

Seth, Bayel, and Ebre’at all stared at them, before Seth laughed. 

“I suppose. Would either of you like something to eat?”

“Well hell, I ain’t gonna turn down a free meal. What y’all got?”

Bayel stood and went to another part of the tent, dragging over a trunk and setting it next to the table. She opened it to reveal trays piled with food; dried meats, strange things that looked like fruits, things that Roman had never seen before. Bayel set the trays out on the table in front of them, and Seth and Ebre’at didn’t wait to grab things, and Roman glanced at Steve. 

“Have at it, Roman. I don’t think we gotta test for poison or anything.”

Roman shrugged and grabbed one of the odd-looking fruits. 

“What is this?”

Ebre’at looked up at him, having bit into a different fruit. 

“It’s a burrat root. You should try it, though it’s a little hot.”

“Do I just bite into it?”

Bayel chewed on a strip of dried meat.

“You can, though some people don’t like the texture of the outside.”   
Roman looked at the root in his hand-it was a pale blue color, the texture outside similar to a melon. He shrugged again and bit into it, taking a little bit into his mouth. There was a burst of...something like a mixture between honey and molasses. There was bitterness and earthiness mixed with a mellow sweetness, and it wasn’t all that bad. He ate another bite, and felt a bit of heat on his tongue. 

“Huh. That’s pretty good.”

“Has the heat kicked in?”

Roman let a piece of the root sit on his tongue for a minute. 

“Kinda, yeah. It’s like ginger-that’s a root from Earth, actually. It’s-yeah, this is really good-thank you for providing us with a meal.”

Seth stared at Roman, slowly chewing on a piece of fruit. 

“You’re a soldier, yes?”

Roman swallowed what was in his mouth.

“Uh…”   
“No, he ain’t.”

Seth looked at Steve before directing his gaze back at Roman. 

“I-I’m part of a-I guess security force, with some people from the military, but-we really just do security work for anyone visiting from Earth. And-I mean, I mostly work in the mine. That’s where I spend most days.”

Seth hummed, and Roman sat up straight, remembering something. 

“Hey, I-do you guys know a lot about the wildlife here?”

Seth, Bayel, and Ebre’at all looked between each other. Ebre’at smiled at Roman, her eyes turning back to that lush, deep green. 

“I know a little.”

“The other night-I was sitting outside and this-thing, came up to me, and...uh….he kinda followed me back to the barracks, and he’s just kinda stuck around. He’s kinda reddish-brown, his skin is weird, and he’s about this big-and he’s got a kind of flat head and two tongues. Do you have any ideas as to what he is?”

All three of the Martians lit up at the description, and Ebre’at grinned, her eyes turning a soft pink color.

“Oh! A kerec! Oh, they’re one of the most beloved animals on Daim-uh-”

Seth smiled a bright, genuine smile, his brown eyes wide.

“They’re called-in what you would say, ‘sun dogs’. They’re generally active at night time and they suck up solar energy during the day by hiding in the dirt-I had two of them as companions when I was younger-”

“Oh, so-they’re kinda like pets?”

“I don’t know, they’re not really domesticated. They choose to stay with someone out of their own free will.”   
Roman popped another piece of the burrat root into his mouth. 

“He did seem really smart.”

“They’re connected directly to the psychosolar field that covers Daim, so that helps.”

Steve paused in his consumption of as many types of meat as he could seemingly get his hands on, staring at the Martians.

“What the hell is a ‘psychosolar field’?”

Bayel tilted her head.

“Does Olann not have one? The-I think you all call it the ‘sun’-interacts with certain magnetic fields in the atmosphere and creates a-oh, what’s the word-the Olann word-um….telepathy, I think. The sun dogs are one of the only creatures from Daim that are truly tapped into it, but all Daimish experience it. It’s how we’re able to learn Olann languages so fast.”

Steve and Roman both stared at her.

“You….read our minds?”

Seth’s eyes widened for a second before he sighed.

“It’s not quite-it’s not ‘reading your minds’ in the sense that I can tell what you’re thinking right now-well, I think I can guess, but-it’s more that….if you have some kind of basic information, like languages or history or mathematics-we can access that. But it’s only background information stored in your memory, and your basic feelings at the moment. For instance, I can tell that hearing about this has frightened and surprised you, but that one of you is less concerned than the other.”

Roman couldn’t argue that. He was a little shocked by the revelation, but he couldn’t say it really bothered him all that much. He glanced at Steve, and saw a much angrier look on his face.

“You don’t think that’s something that us Earthlings should have known ahead of time?”

Seth shrugged. 

“We were unsure if the Olanns had any similar capabilities, and even though you don’t, it’s not like we can use it for anything malicious. The spirits of Daim wouldn’t allow us to. The only one on Daim who can genuinely ‘read minds’ is the Be’leora and-and he doesn’t use it for anything untoward. You have to trust us on that.”

Roman looked between Seth and Steve, swallowing and taking a deep breath. 

“I think he’s telling the truth, Steve. If anything, it just sounds like an asset to help with easier communication, and we need communication between Earth and Mars to go as smoothly as possible. It-it also sounds like it’s not really something they can turn on and off. I don’t think it’s something to get worried about.”

Roman didn’t mention how he caught the edge of hesitation in Seth’s voice when telling them about the only one who could read minds. He had been sure Seth was going to list more than one person, but he’d stopped himself. Roman didn’t distrust Seth, but he knew the Martian was keeping something from them. He couldn’t figure out why, but he knew he was. Steve sighed heavily and stared at the Martians.

“Hell. Y’all got any beer?”

Seth tilted his head. 

“What is that?”

Roman watched and laughed as Steve began a diatribe, mostly about how Mars was a ‘goddamn paradise until I heard THAT’, and he looked to Seth, catching his gaze for a moment. He saw recognition and a touch of worry on his face, and Roman simply turned his head back to the general, watching as he dug through other containers of food and drink, looking for something to imbibe. 


	3. Sodium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> reactive.

“I can’t believe it...this place is ours, Roman! It’s ours! Officially! We own a house!”   
Roman laughed and held an ice pack to his eyebrow, watching as Sasha bounced Lotu on her lap. They’d done the math after Roman’s mission with Steve ended and found out they had more than enough for Sasha to actually buy a house, and she’d found one not too far from their neighborhood-still close enough to see their families easily, still familiar, but safer and less crowded-and it was a lovely little place, not too big, but just perfect for her and Lotu. 

And Roman, one day.

“I know, Sash. It’s….I’m just-I’m really happy that you guys have that now. Is Mom gonna come stay with you guys?”

Sasha shifted Lotu in her arms, smiling at Roman through the screen. It was almost enough to forget the millions of miles between them. 

“Yeah, I talked to her and your dad the other day. Your mom is gonna stay for a little while, then your dad. My parents are just making daily visits, Pop is checking every single pipe and outlet and...everything.”

Roman laughed. 

“Yeah, that-I figured he would.”

Sasha bit her lip, holding their daughter close.

“Roman…..we have this because of you. We’re secure and safe and happy because of you, and-I am so, so lucky-Lotu is so lucky that we have you in our life. You were willing to go-to go as far as you did ust to provide for us and to give our baby a better life, and-”

Sasha’s voice broke, and she wiped a few tears away, and Roman wished to God that he could be there to do that for her. 

“Sasha-”

“No, Roman-I am-I feel so blessed to have had what we did, and that we made this beautiful, wonderful life together-and once you come home, I swear, I am gonna make sure you get to spend every second of the day with her.”

Roman bit his lip and wiped at his own eyes. 

“That’s all I want, is to be there for her.”

“I know. I-I really do love you, Rome. And I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I miss home.”

“Are you dealing with everything okay?”

Roman sighed. There had been more accidents, not an extraordinary amount, but they happened once a week or so now, and he’d had even more work with the team, running security and working with a few Martian intelligence agents on what could be causing the collapses. 

“Yeah, I-things could be worse. I’ve got my friends, I’ve got-”

Roman blushed, pausing and brushing his hair behind his ear. Sasha was grinning, and he rolled his eyes in an attempt to ignore the fact that he blushed harder. 

“And you’ve got Miss Charlotte…”

She said it with a sing-song tone, and Roman groaned.

“Sasha….”

“What? I think it’s sweet, that you found yourself a girlfriend on Mars, you big ol’ casanova.”

Things with Charlotte were going well, and that had been nice. No major arguments, no strife, it was still fairly casual and infinitely comfortable. And pretty goddamn passionate in the bedroom, too.

“She is...it’s nice. It’s easy, you know?”

“I’m happy for you, Rome. You deserve something good like that. Are you guys...you know….getting serious?”

Roman shrugged. 

“I mean…..not really? I like her, and I love spending time with her, but-I don’t know. We’re just seeing each other and seeing where this all goes and not putting a lot of pressure on making it go anywhere.”

“Nothing wrong with that, Rome. Work’s going okay?”

Roman stuck his tongue out at Lotu, smiling when she waved her arms. 

“Yeah, it’s been...average. The mines are all meeting their quotas, and my team is doing well, we had-fuck, like five missions in a goddamn row last week.”

Sasha frowned, and Lotu drooled a little around her pacifier. 

“I hope you can get some rest soon, Roman. That sounds like...a lot.”

Roman smiled, pressing the ice pack tighter to his forehead. Sasha raised an eyebrow.

“And don’t think I haven’t noticed that. What’s the story?”

“Training accident. Got knocked on the head with the butt of a rifle.”

He’d wondered if it actually had been an accident, given that Brock was the one who hit him, but he was keeping his speculation to himself for now.

“It’s not that bad, it’ll heal up fast. Just a headache and bump.”

“Okay...just-be careful, okay?”

“Of course. I have to go soon, but-I’m really happy you’re enjoying the house and that Lotu is settling in alright. I love you, Sasha, and I love you, my soul. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Roman. And so does Lotu, say bye-bye to daddy!”   
Roman smiled-a little sadly-as the call ended, and he sighed, taking the ice pack away from his head. It really didn’t get easier, being this far away from them. He stood and left the call office,starting to head back to the barracks; he actually had most of the day off, having gotten an earlier shift at the mine to meet his required hours. He was happy to get the chance to spend the day doing...well, whatever he wanted, really. He walked outside and heard a trilling sound, looking around until he saw the sun dog running up to him. Roman grinned and kneeled, the sun dog jumping into his arms, licking his face with both tongues. 

“Hey, hey-hi, Flathead, I wasn’t gone for too long-shouldn’t you be sleeping right now, anyway?”

Flathead-as Roman had lovingly named him-looked up at him as he stood, panting and running around his feet in circles. Roman patted him on the head and continued on his walk back to the barracks. Flathead followed at his side, occasionally walking ahead to sniff at something. Roman had grown attached to the sun dog, though he still hadn’t told his captains about him. He didn’t think they’d let him keep Flathead inside, as much as he wanted to-though most of the rest of his team had met Flathead, and adored him. A few people had suggested Flathead become their mascot.

Flathead darted forward and caught something in his teeth, looking up at Roman, waiting.

“You can take all of it, I already had breakfast.”

Flathead chewed and swallowed-whatever the hell it was that he caught, and continued to walk alongside Roman. There was no one else at the barracks, and Roman was about to walk in when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He felt it, honestly, more than he saw it, but he turned anyway. Flathead had gone still, and Roman slowly let his hand brush over the knife holstered safely at his hip. He walked to the buildings nearby where he’d seen the movement, and saw...nothing. No one in the vast expanse in front of him, but there were tracks-some kind of vehicle, it looked like. Roman frowned, kneeling down and running his fingers over the disturbed dirt. He noticed Flathead sniffing at something, licking the ground near some equipment-it was the panel and wiring that controlled the elevator that led down to the mines, and Roman kneeled close to the wires, eyes widening at what he saw. 

They’d been cut. 

The moment they tried to use the elevator next, it would just drop, and Roman stood. 

“Stay here, keep an eye on this.”

Flathead stood firmly in front of the panels, growling a little. Roman trusted him to not let anyone near. He burst into a sprint, heading to the mines as fast as he could. They kept the panels farther away from the mines, to prevent them from getting damaged by too much traffic, and they should have been monitored, but Roman guessed there was an oversight. He ran into the temporary building that he knew Hunter was in, heading straight to his office. Hunter looked up at him, immediately frowning.

“Roman?”

“Someone cut the wires on the panel for the elevators-they might have cut others, that’s the only one I saw, we can’t let them use it-”

Hunter stood, pulling out his radio.

“This is Hunter. Do not, I repeat, do NOT use the elevators. Shut everything down until I say otherwise, we don’t know what the extent of the damage is.”

Roman caught his breath, following Hunter out to the entrance of the mines. The foreman was climbing up one of the ladders-there were a few for emergencies-and he walked up to Hunter and Roman. 

“What happened?”

Hunter glanced at Roman.

“I-I saw someone near the panels, closer to the barracks, and when I went and looked at the panels-the wires were cut, and it was smooth, it couldn’t have been wildlife. And-there were-there were tracks, from some kind of vehicle, I don’t know what. It had to have been a person, though. This was on purpose. Everyone needs to get out of the mines-”

Hunter and the foreman both looked at Roman, and Hunter frowned. 

“Why?”

Roman paused, blinking. 

“I-I don’t...know. It-I just have a feeling that there’s more-that whoever cut those wires didn’t just do that.”

Hunter stared at Roman for a long moment, before turning to the foreman. 

“Evacuation plan C. I’ll call the safety inspectors and the rest of the spec team. Roman, take me to the panels.”

Roman nodded, following Hunter to a small vehicle, a driver taking them to the panels. Roman wished he could have helped with the evacuation, but he was going to do what he was told right now. He jumped out of the vehicle, proud to see that Flathead was still standing in the same place. He ran up to the sun dog, reaching down and petting his head. 

“Good boy.”

He turned to see Hunter taking off his suit jacket, rolling his sleeves up as he approached. He kneeled in front of the panel, inspecting it. 

“You know you’ll be questioned about this, right?”

Roman’s eyes widened and he stared at Hunter. 

“What?”

“I’m not saying that you did it, or had anything to do with it, but you were alone when you found it. You’re gonna be questioned.”

Roman….hated the sound of that, but he swallowed and nodded. Hunter looked up at him. 

“I don’t believe that you had anything to do with this. You’ve been nothing but a good-you’re a good man, Roman. If you wanted to sabotage us, you’d do it to our faces.”

“Aren’t-aren’t there security cameras? Wouldn’t that have caught who did it?”

Hunter sighed and stood, lowering his voice. 

“I’m telling you this in confidence, and because you’ve proven yourself trustworthy to me. You cannot tell anyone, but-this is not the first piece of equipment that’s been damaged. Someone poured acid on the cameras, and we’re waiting for replacements from Earth.”

Roman felt a little chill of fear at that.

“But-why wouldn’t you tell people?”

“Hearing about sabotage puts ideas into people’s minds. We can’t afford a mass panic, and I’m not going to let there be a mass panic.”   
Flathead trilled and pressed up against Roman’s side, and he got on his knees, petting him on the head. 

“What...exactly is that?”

Roman looked up at him, as Flathead climbed mostly onto his lap, panting a little.

“Oh-Flathead is a kerec-uh, sun dog. That’s what they’re called. He came up to me one night and has just stuck around ever since.”

They didn’t get a chance to continue talking about Flathead as some safety inspectors arrived, bringing tools and wiring over. Roman moved out of the way, sitting on the ground nearby as they worked. He watched Hunter talking to them, and Flathead sensed his distress, climbing onto his lap and cuddling with him, a quiet, soft buzzing sound coming from him. Roman didn’t really know what else to do, other than to watch and wait. He knew that Hunter and the McMahons would think that the Martians did it, but...Roman wasn’t sure. All of the reports he’d read and all of the missions he’d been a part of involving intelligence recently had shown no evidence that Martians were sabotaging the mines. 

Of course, if it wasn’t Martians, then that left one option, and Roman honestly thought that the possibility of people from Earth doing this was worse. 

Roman looked up as Hunter approached him. 

“I just got word from the foreman. The mine is cleared out, and your team has been recalled from their mission to come work on this. The other mines are being inspected and cleared out for the day. You need to suit up, you’re on this, too.”

Roman nodded, standing and heading to the barracks. He didn’t question Hunter following him, and he patted Flathead on the head.

“Stay here.”

Flathead ran to his little dug-out spot under Roman’s window, and Roman and Hunter went inside. Hunter followed Roman into his room, sitting on his bed as Roman grabbed his mission uniform, putting it on and activating the nanotech armor. He wasn’t really embarrassed or hesitant to change in front of Hunter, and he turned to see Hunter holding the picture of Lotu that he kept. 

“Did you know that I have three daughters?”

“No, sir.”

“They’re ten, twelve, and thirteen. My whole damn world, too.”

Roman put his hair up and swallowed. 

“Yeah, I-I know the feeling.”

Hunter was quiet for a moment, and set the picture back on Roman’s bedside table. He stood, taking a deep breath and smoothing out his shirt and tie. 

“Let’s go. The team should be here soon.”

Roman nodded, following Hunter back outside. Flathead ran up to them, sticking by Roman’s side closely. They all got into the vehicle again, heading back to the mine-Roman was happy that Hunter seemed okay with Flathead accompanying him, sitting on his lap, quietly buzzing and trilling to keep Roman calm. Ever since he learned about the psychosolar field and the natural telepathy most creatures on Mars were imbued with, it made more sense how Flathead was able to read his moods so easily and react in the way Roman needed. The team was just getting off of a transport as they reached the mines, Paul, Finlay, A.J., Brock, and the foreman all talking, while Titus, Natalya, Sarah, and Charlotte all directed the miners on where to go for the duration. Hunter and Roman headed over to Paul, Flathead still right by Roman’s leg. 

“Updates?”

Paul sighed.   
“The other safety inspectors and foremans all found cut wires for similar equipment. It was clearly planned, but no one noticed because it was the middle of the workday.”

Roman felt a little uncomfortable as all of the men looked at him. Hunter nodded at him.

“Roman, why don’t you tell everyone what happened?”

Roman swallowed, looking between all six men.

“I-I was coming back from the video call office and I saw someone moving around the barracks, and I didn’t catch them, but-there were tracks leading away, from some kind of vehicle, and-Flathead started sniffing around the panels, and that’s how I noticed the wires. They were cut smooth, and-I think there’s more that was done, but I don’t know where or how. I think something may have been done to the living spaces, too.”

He hadn’t voiced that particular concern yet, but he figured now would be the time. A.J looked at him, stern as usual.

“And you were alone when you found the damage?”

“Yes, sir.”

The six men exchanged glances, and Roman felt his cheeks burn a little, before he straightened his back to his full height. 

“I know I’m speaking out of turn, and I know how it sounds. I know I’m gonna be questioned, and I don’t care. I don’t know how or why this happened or who did it, I just want to make sure everyone is safe.”

He had tried not to speak out too much, not after that first mission, but he didn’t want to be left out of the job just because they didn’t know if he was telling the truth. 

“The interrogation can happen later. Right now, we need all hands on deck.”

Roman nodded and followed Brock, A.J, and Paul over to the rest of the team. Ricochet gently squeezed Roman’s forearm, and they all stood, waiting for instruction. 

“Alright, everyone, we’re looking for safety hazards, signs of sabotage. Group A will check the mine itself, Group B will check the offices and ground equipment, and Group C will check all living and leisure spaces.”

Roman was put into Group C, along with Shayna, Baron, and Sarah. They were going to have to travel to the other mine sites as well, and it was going to be a long, long day. 

\---

It took nineteen hours, travel included, to check all of the sites. The safety inspectors and Roman’s team worked nonstop, technicians fixing any of the damage that they found. And they found...a lot. Vital safety equipment had been damaged on all the sites, and they had found ruptured gas lines in the cafeterias, and hazards in the living spaces. It was a grueling day, and Roman hadn’t actually gotten to return to the barracks afterwards. He’d immediately been taken to the main little city, and had been interrogated for about six hours. He was exhausted. He was frustrated. He was honestly a little angry, at the whole situation and the fact that they suspected him. He’d sacrificed the chance to raise his daughter for the first few years of his life by working for these people, and he found himself upset at the fact that he apparently wasn’t more broadly trustworthy. 

But more than anything, he was tired. He just wanted to go to his room and pass out, and he was on the transport back to the barracks, already almost falling asleep. He didn’t even have Flathead with him at this point; he’d entrusted him and his safety to Charlotte, who’d gladly taken on the responsibility. Though Flathead had been very unwilling to leave Roman’s side. 

By the time Roman got to the barracks, he felt like his bones were covered in concrete. He felt heavy all over, and he didn’t even greet anyone as he entered. He just dragged himself to his room, smiling at the sight of Flathead sleeping on his bed. He patted the sun dog on the head, quickly stripping and showering. He re-dressed in a pair of sleep pants and nothing else, falling onto his mattress. 

There was a knock on his door, and he wanted to ignore it, but he knew he couldn’t. 

“C’min.”

He looked up to see Charlotte, carefully balancing food on a tray. Roman sat up and she sat on the edge of the bed, Flathead happily trilling. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

Roman smiled. Charlotte set the tray on the bed, and Roman rubbed his eyes. 

“You brought me soup?”

Charlotte grinned and laughed. 

“Well, Natalya made you soup. Everyone here was really worried about you, Roman. We wanted to make sure your night ended on a positive note.”

Roman ran his hands over his still-damp hair, picking up the bowl of soup. Charlotte watched him, looking concerned.

“How did the questioning go?”

Roman sighed. 

“It went. They figured out I was telling the truth at one point. Didn’t like taking that truth drug, but...I guess it was necessary.”

Charlotte bit her lip. Roman raised an eyebrow, slowly eating. 

“You can say it.”

Charlotte exhaled through her nose. 

“It was necessary, Roman. I know it was horrible, I know the process is horrible, but-they had to make sure.”

“Do you think I had anything to do with it?”

“No, of course not. But-we can’t take any chances, not when someone tried to do something of this scale. I know you’re not a terrorist, but-it looked suspicious. I know you’re frustrated-”

Roman set the bowl down, sighing. Flathead pressed against his side, but that didn’t help as much as it should have. 

“I’m not frustrated, I’m tired and I’m pissed off-I know they had to do it, I’m not an idiot, but-I’ve worked my ass off while I’ve been here and it’s not exactly fun to know that I can’t be trusted. I know some people are gonna still have their suspicions about me now, and-fuck, what is that gonna do? I’m gonna have extra eyes on me for God knows how long, and-fuck, I’m not doing anything wrong, but being watched all the time sure as hell makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong.”

“I understand all of that, and-I’m not trying to fight with you, Roman.”

Roman sighed, rubbing his palms over his face.

“I-I know. I’m sorry, I’m-the drug hasn’t worn off entirely, and they said irritation was one of the side effects, as it works its way out of my system. I’m not mad at you, or anything, I just...I pride myself on being an honest, trustworthy person, you know? So when that comes into question-”

“It feels like they’re insulting a core value of yours.”   
Roman nodded. 

“Yeah. It-I do know they had to question me, and...I’ll be less mad about it tomorrow. I just need to feel this and let it out and-yeah.”

Charlotte sighed, scooting a little closer to him. She reached out and cupped his cheek, her palm rubbing across his beard-it had grown much thicker and fuller by now. 

“Roman….I’m sorry that you had to go through all that. I really am. But it’s over now. We all made sure the people here are safe, and we’re all getting a day off tomorrow. You can relax and rest and recover from today, and you deserve that more than anyone.   
Roman covered her hand with his own, turning his head to kiss at her palm. He closed his eyes and exhaled, the two of them just sitting in silence for a moment. 

“Thank you.”   
“For what?”

Roman opened his eyes, smiling at her.

“Just for being here. It’s nice.”

Charlotte smiled, tilting her head a little.

“You want me to stay here for the night?”

“If you want, yeah. Could use something nice today.”

She blushed and giggled, standing and stripping off her pants, leaving her in her shirt and underwear. She climbed onto the bed with him, Flathead settling on the floor under the window, preparing to soak up the sunlight that would enter. Roman kept eating, Charlotte occasionally feeding him by hand. They talked and cuddled, Roman finally relaxing for the first time that day.

\---

Roman stepped into the huge, open-air tent, and Seth immediately looked up at him from where he was sitting at a low table, looking over various screens. 

“Hello, Roman.”

“Hello, Seth.”

Apparently, Seth had specifically requested that Roman lead the Earth portion of the investigation for the time being, after hearing about the incident a few days ago. Roman sat at the table, and Seth passed him one of the screens. 

“My agents have provided some more security and surveillance equipment for your people. The particular-uh-damage, done to the equipment on the mines and living quarters is consistent with past Daimish methods of warfare, and the tracks that were found leading away from the sites are a match for some of our vehicles, but…”

Seth sighed, flipping through a few screens. 

“-I don’t-I’m unsure of how this could have happened without anyone noticing. Someone should have picked up on this.”

Roman frowned and looked through his own screens, reading through translated Martian reports. They hadn’t come any closer to finding out who had committed the sabotage, at all, and Roman knew his bosses and Seth were getting frustrated. 

“How is your leader handling this?”

Seth sighed again. 

“He’s...unhappy, with the situation. I’ve never seen him lose sleep like this.”   
Roman had learned more about the relationship Seth had with the Be’leora while they worked together; they’d known each other for most of their lives, and had gone through the Martian version of a marriage ceremony when they were fairly young. Seth had been well on his way to becoming an Arc-a general, essentially-by the time they were married, and then Fahin-Finn, to the Earthlings, had been chosen as Be’leora. Roman thought it was a sweet story, and Seth lit up whenever he was given the chance to talk about Finn. 

“Hopefully we’ll be able to figure all this out soon. My bosses are….they’re really not digging this.”

“Unfortunately, information only comes as it does, not as we make it. It’s not an easy-easy….sorry, I’m still unused to this language.”

Roman shrugged, making a few notes on the reports. 

“No problem. I appreciate that you even put in the effort to speak in one of our languages. The Martians-Daim has been very welcoming towards us. It’s one of the reasons why I’m trying to prove that your people aren’t responsible for what’s been happening.”

Roman looked up at Seth, who was staring at him, that curious look on his face again. 

“What do you mean?”

Roman sighed. 

“I mean...on Earth, as a species, humans don’t have the best track record when it comes to war and fighting each other. We have a tendency-well, some humans more than others-to colonize and invade, and I  _ don’t _ want this to turn into an invasion, or a war, or a disaster. If we start to suspect that the Martians are trying to harm us? I know for a fact that we’re not gonna go for the peaceful solution right off the bat. We react like cornered dogs when faced with things like that.”

Seth was quiet for a moment. 

“Your people sound...interesting.”

Roman laughed. 

“Yeah, that’s-that’s one word for it. I don’t want you to get worried about that, though. We-we didn’t come here for a fight, you know? We just...we like to explore. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad, but it is what we are, at the heart of our species.”

“That’s why you came to Daim? To explore?”

Roman nodded, unable to keep a smile off his face. 

“Absolutely. God-for the longest, longest time-all of history, I think, we’ve wanted to...get up here, somehow. Not just Mars, but-space in general. All of it. Looking up at night and seeing the stars, finding out that there were other planets? Other planets that could-have people like us or completely different, it captured us. We wanted-we needed to explore it, and for a long time, we couldn’t, we just didn’t have the science to-but now that we can?”

Roman knew he sounded like a kid, excited and bright and dreamy, but that’s how he felt. He ducked his head down, brushing a loose piece of hair behind his ear.

“I...I’ve always loved Mars, a lot. My father and uncles would tell me stories about it and the stars, and I just...knowing that this planet existed, that it was real and-it was just out of reach for the longest time, you know? I think that was part of it. There was always this...yearning. Wishing that I could see it, but knowing it would never happen. It was always this big, beautiful, unreachable dream. And then...the opportunity came up, and I got to come up here, and-God, I love it even more now.”

He laughed at himself a little, glancing at Seth. He was smiling softly, and he cleared the screens for a moment. 

“Maybe someday, I will get to see Olann. I cannot say that I have the same need that you had towards Daim-we are not explorers, for the most part, we’re happy to stay here, comfortable in our traditions and ancestry-but the way you speak of Daim makes me want to experience your world for the first time as well.”

Roman smiled.

“I hope you get to, someday. Hey, I can give you a tour around Florida. Though-Florida might be a bit much for a first timer.”

Seth tilted his head.

“What is a Florida?”

Roman laughed at that and shook his head, turning the screens back, readying to take more notes.

“Trust me, we do not have enough time to get into that.”

\---

The investigation continued over the next few weeks, and still, nothing came of it. Whoever had done it had covered their tracks well-the tracks in the dirt had literally led nowhere, having been quickly erased by wind. Roman was unsure of where to go from there and what moves to make, but he had other work and other assignments to focus on as well. It bothered him, though, that they were unable to find anything about the culprits. He felt like his job was left unfinished.

He felt worse, though, about the suspicion surrounding him. 

Roman had been entirely right in the assumption that people would be wary of him after that day, no matter what he did, no matter how hard he worked. His friends, Hunter, Charlotte, even Seth were convinced of his innocence, but in communities the size of the mining colonies, rumors spread fast, and often, unstoppably. Roman had always tried very hard not to let things like that get to him; people had always found reasons to talk about him, spread negativity about him, throughout his whole life. Roman didn’t understand really what he’d apparently always done to deserve that, as he tried very hard to do as much good as he could manage, but he supposed that everyone saw themselves as always doing as much good as they could manage. It was just that ‘good’ varied. He knew that, and yet...it still bugged the crap out of him to get stared at and whispered about. 

Roman sighed and sat down at the same table in the cafeteria space that he always did, Bobby, Braun, and Charlotte all with him. 

“Dude, you okay?”

Roman looked across at Bobby and shrugged.

“Yeah, I mean-I guess. Just thinking.”

“About all the recent shit on your shoulders?”

That did get a laugh out of Roman. Braun certainly had a way with words.

“Yeah. Yeah, I-I don’t know. I guess it’s getting to me.”

Charlotte scooted a little closer to him, and he felt comforted by it. Charlotte was quickly becoming his best friend on Mars, much like Sasha was his best friend back home. 

“You’ve proven your innocence and that you’re trustworthy. This place just makes people act like a bunch of gossipy old hens.”

“I know…”

Charlotte leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, her arms going around his shoulders. 

“It’ll be okay, handsome.”

Roman leaned into the embrace, closing his eyes for a moment. 

“How is the stuff with y’all’s team going, anyway? Without giving out classified information.”   
Roman set about eating as Charlotte informed the two men of their recent missions and jobs, how the various team members were doing, and Roman enjoyed hearing her talk about it. Apart from the investigation into nowhere, the team had actually been doing well. Everyone worked together even better after that day, everyone seemed to be clicking more. Even Brock had had a few personable, friendly moments with various members of the team. Roman had gotten into a mostly-amicable shouting match with A.J. over Georgia football teams, but given that the entire team-Brock and Paul included-had been in stitches over it, he figured it hadn’t been a big deal. 

Plus, he knew he was right. Georgia Tech all the way. 

Roman looked up as he felt something hit the back of his head. He turned around and saw a piece of paper on the ground, and he reached down to pick it up. Charlotte, Bobby, and Braun all stared at him as he un-crumpled it, a little shiver of fear shooting down his spine at the sight of the word ‘terrorist’ scribbled on the paper. That wasn’t it-’why’d you do it’, ‘what’s wrong with you’, a slew of expletives and even some slurs. He exhaled through his mouth, setting the paper down on the table, reaching up to make sure his hair was tightly secured in a bun, and quietly went back to eating. Charlotte grabbed the paper and looked it over, and Roman tried to ignore it as Bobby and Braun looked at it, too, all three of them getting angry. 

Which was rare, in Bobby’s case. The man rarely got angry at anything. Roman just kept eating.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Roman-”

“Don’t. It validates their bullshit.”

“This is unacceptable, though. Rumors are one thing, but this borders on harassment.”

“Yeah, it does, and we’re all gonna agree to ignore it.”

He could tell that his friends wanted to argue, and he appreciated that, but he didn’t want to draw attention to this. At all. He finished up his meal, looking at the down faces of his friends. Roman sighed, shaking his head and smiling, pulling something out of his pocket-three brownies, that he’d managed to convince one of the cooks to make-and set one in front of each of them. His smile grew as he watched their eyes light up. 

“Whoa, where’d you get these?”

“I have friends in warm places.”

Roman caught Charlotte looking at him, fondness etched into her expression. 

“What?”

“You’re sweet, Roman Reigns.”

Roman blushed, eating his own brownie. He liked when she complimented him. It felt like when Sasha said nice things about him-warmth and comfort and ease soaking into his bones and pushing out the anxiety and worry. 

\---

_ ‘Nattie, Baron, Apollo, check.’ _

_ ‘Check.’ _

_ ‘Check.’ _

_ ‘Check.’ _

_ ‘Sarah, Ruby, Tommaso?’ _

_ ‘We’re all good.’ _

_ ‘Randy?’ _

_ ‘In place.’ _

_ ‘Shayna, Ricochet, Sonya?’ _

_ ‘Check on all.’ _

_ ‘Dana, Titus, Charlotte?’ _

_ ‘Check.’ _

_ ‘Check.’ _

_ ‘Lesnar, Reigns _ ?’

Roman quickly glanced at Brock, and caught his gaze.

“Check for me and Reigns.”

He nodded, and carefully shifted in the crouched position he was in. They were waiting for A.J’s call, and Roman scanned over the area in front of him. He didn’t feel good about raiding the building, but while working with Seth, they’d uncovered evidence of a Martian vehicle that had gone missing for about two days a few weeks ago, right when the sabotage had occurred. According to Seth, Martian vehicles were carefully regulated, so one going missing involved altered records. Seth and his forces were conducting a similar raid at the same time, in a Martian city, and he and Roman were meeting up afterwards-depending on the success of said raids-along with some other Arcs, Brock, and A.J.

The building itself was in the small city the Earthlings had built, a noncommittal little thing meant for the menial office work involved in all that Earth was doing on Mars. Roman watched as Brock shifted his gun a little, keeping it pointed down for the moment. He had been giving Roman strange looks all day, and Roman didn’t want to think about why that could be.

‘ _ Just got the call from Arc Seth. Move in. _ ’

Roman and Brock both stood, Roman following him into the building-they were one of the lead teams, along with Randy and A.J., and they broke down the door, Brock yelling at the group of people in the building to get down. Roman watched as A.J. and Randy moved in, followed by the rest of their team. The people inside all got down, except for a handful, who just started screaming back at the team. Roman, Shayna, Ricochet, and Sonya all surrounded them, Sonya and Shayna both yelling for the people to get down. Roman quickly looked over them, before he felt an odd sensation in his head, and he turned in time to see someone who’d gotten down pull out a gun, pointing it directly at A.J.

“Gun!”

Roman and Natalya both ran towards the woman on the ground, but not before she got a shot off. Roman kneeled on her back with one knee while Natalya wrangled her into handcuffs, and Roman looked up to see that the group that had been resisting had all been wrestled down. He looked over to A.J., breathing out a sigh of relief at the fact that the woman had apparently missed. The captain still seemed pissed off, though.

“I suggest everyone calm down! We’re here because everyone in this room has been implicated in an attempt to sabotage the safety and operations of the Earth mining colonies! You’re all being taken to a neutral site for joint questioning between Earth and Martian forces.”

Some people struggled, as they were hauled into a transport, but others went peacefully. The woman who’d tried to shoot A.J. tried to bite Roman and Natalya, which was...unnerving, but they managed to get her into the transport all the same. The teams split up into vehicles once everyone was in, all of them heading out to the neutral site. Roman was in a vehicle with Brock, who was driving-apparently he drove on most of the missions, because he found it soothing.

“Good call on the shooter.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The drive took about twenty minutes, and they pulled up as Martians were setting up a temporary building of some kind, and Roman almost immediately spotted Seth, even in the low light. He got out of the vehicle along with Brock, A.J. jogging up to them. 

“Thanks for having my back, Roman.”

“It’s my job, sir.”

A.J. huffed out a laugh, and Roman approached Seth first, having been the only one of his team to really meet him, still. He and Seth made the same hand gesture at each other, a common Martian greeting. 

“Hello, Arc Setath.”

“Roman. These are your-your...smaller bosses?”

“My captains, yes. This is A.J. Styles and Brock Lesnar. Sirs, this is Arc Setath of Daim.”

Seth made the same greeting towards the two men, who nodded in acknowledgement before Seth turned back to Roman. 

“Did your collecting of suspects go well?”

“As well as anyone could expect. Someone tried to shoot A.J.”

Seth frowned, looking at the captain.

“Unfortunate.”

Roman glanced at A.J., and saw him raise an eyebrow.

“That’s one word for it. How did y’all’s raid go?”

“Smoothly. The suspects will be awake soon, and we’ll be able to interrogate.”

“Awake?”

“We knocked them out, before taking them in. It tends to make things go-easier?”

Seth was still having trouble with the English language-according to what he’d told Roman on one of their more casual days of work, that was apparently only a problem for him, and that he’d had trouble learning the Martian language as well, even with the psychosolar field.

“Well. We’ll have to consider that next time.”

A.J. turned and whistled, calling out to the team.

“Alright! Stay in your groups, bring out the suspects nice and slow. Don’t want any more incidents tonight.”

Roman watched as A.J. went off to direct traffic, essentially, before he and Brock followed Seth into the same tent that Seth always had set up for meetings. There were two other Martians there, and they stood, Seth bowing his head to them for a moment. They responded, making a new hand gesture in front of their chests. 

“Ten-Arcs Sami and Nia, as you would call them in your voice.”

Roman greeted the both of them, as did Brock, and A.J., once he came into the tent. All six of them sat around the low table, and Roman did give himself a moment to be entertained by his captains inability to arrange themselves comfortably. Seth pulled up the screens, as per usual, and Roman got right to work. It took his captains a moment to adjust to the technology, much like with the furniture.

“We detained seven of our people who were working in the offices that originally worked on the land contracts for the Olann colonies.”

A.J. hummed. 

“The people we arrested-the ones we found leads to-all worked in a similar office, they took care of any shipments to and from Earth and between the mines.”

Brock was silent as he flipped through the screens, reading the various reports. Roman pulled one up and read over it, frowning. 

“When do the interrogations start?”

“Soon. We’ll be very careful with your people.”

“We’ll do the same.”

“Should we worry about a language barrier?”

Seth tilted his head, looking at Roman.

“You haven’t told them?”

Roman blushed, glancing at his captains and clearing his throat. 

“Uh-long story short, Martians can lowkey read minds and that’s how they learned human languages so easily. All of the Martians we interrogate should know at least English, since that’s been the predominant language of the colonies.”

Roman tried very hard not to roll his eyes at that; English wasn’t even the most widely-spoken language on Earth, but he supposed that was what happened when the mining colonies were led by the American military and American corporations. Brock and A.J. both looked….Roman couldn’t quite describe their expressions.

“Y’all can….read...minds….”

“Okay, like-I oversimplified, they can’t ‘read our minds’, they can-”

Roman noticed Nia and Sami both smiling under their hands. He sighed.

“They can’t read our minds in the sense that Seth can look at me and know exactly what I’m thinking at that moment. They can access basic information, like...language, or-or math, or history. Basically anything you learn in school, they can find out. That and like-your general mood. It’s because of the psychosolar field on Mars.”

“The what?”

Roman was about to answer, when Bayel stepped into the tent. 

“Arc, the interrogation is set to begin.”   
Seth nodded.    
“Thank you, Bayel.”

She left, and the three Martians looked between each other. Roman frowned. 

“Are we gonna be sitting in with them?”

“No, our interrogators and some of your people will be handling it, under surveillance. We will be able to review the….the...recordings after.”

Sami leaned forward. 

“Have you three eaten recently? Or any of your people?”

“It’s been a few hours since our last meal.”

Nia waved at one of the trainees, who brought the trunks of food over-Roman was well acquainted with them by now and didn’t hesitate to reach in once it was open, making a little pile of fruit and meat and a bread-like food on the table in front of him. He looked over to Brock and A.J., who were both staring at him as he popped a piece of meat into his mouth. 

“Have at it, guys, this stuff is really good.”

“Uh...I think I’ll pass.”

Both captains went back to looking over the various reports and screens, and Roman did the same while he ate. He heard Sami mumble something. 

“Huh. That’s…”

They all looked to him.

“What?”

“There’s-hm. I’m looking at some documents-every ship from Olann has to sign a contract and give an inventory, and then have that inventory checked in, and there’s one ship that came in about a-oh...a...week? I’m not used to Olann times-but it came in about a week ahead of the incidents, and the inventory reports are...they’re not right.”

A.J. copied the screen to his own and looked over it, while Roman chewed through a root. 

“You’re right. The outgoing checks don’t match up with the incoming.”

“Someone took something?”

“Looks like it.”

Nia hummed, tearing open a round fruit and taking out some of the insides.

“It wasn’t anything big, from the looks of it. I’ll check other inventories. It’s possible they did this over multiple ships, to cut down on suspicion.”

That was a worrying thought. Roman looked up at the sound of a commotion, not thinking before grabbing his gun and running out. He saw Baron and Randy trying to hold back a group of people, the ones they’d brought in, eyes going wide at the sight of Sarah on the ground, holding her bleeding side. A.J. and Brock ran past him to the group of people, along with Nia, Roman, Sami, and Seth all kneeling with Sarah, along with Ruby and Tommaso.   
“What happened?”

“One of the suspects had a knife hidden-”

Sarah winced, and Roman saw the knife still in her side. It wasn’t very big, but he couldn’t tell how deep it was. Ruby was almost in tears, and Roman looked to Seth.

“Is there anything you can-”

“Yes. Sami, you know what to do-”

“I’ve got it.”

They all shifted so that Sami could sit next to Sarah, pulling her uniform open enough to get a better look at the wound. Roman pulled out a small flashlight, holding it above them as Sami felt around the wound. 

“It’s not very deep-and I’m not familiar with Olann anatomy, but it feels like it only penetrated the muscle and fat layers-she’ll be fine if we put some-”

“Bayel!”

Roman didn’t look away from Sarah as Bayel ran up to them, Seth barking orders in Martian as Sami traced his fingers around the wound. 

“Does it feel like it’s hit anything major?”

Sarah shook her head.

“No but-”

She cried out, and Sami’s eyes widened. 

“Oh-”

“What? What happened?”

Sami leaned down and sniffed at the wound, quietly muttering in Martian. 

“What?!”

“The blade was coated in-if I’m smelling correctly-n’sedar extract. It’s a plant that’s historically been used for poison-the effects aren’t necessarily deadly, just extremely painful, but….I don’t know how it will interact with Olanns-”

Bayel came rushing back with a few items in her hands, Sami quickly finding what he needed and mixing two vials together in a bowl, before putting one hand on Sarah, the other on the handle of the knife. He turned to Seth and they spoke in Martian for a moment, before Seth picked up the bowl. Sami waited for a moment before pulling the knife out, Seth immediately pouring in the contents of the bowl directly into the wound. Sarah cried out again, almost a screech, and Roman frowned, noticing how tightly she was holding Ruby’s hand. She writhed for a few minutes as Sami massaged the area, until he could put a bandage on it. 

“It-that should work, it’s the standard-uh….it’s the opposite-poison for n’sedar extract, but I don’t-I’m sorry, I don’t know Olanns-”

Roman reached out, placing his hand on Sami’s shoulder and squeezing.

“Hey, it’s okay. You did what you could. Tommaso, Ruby, you guys have to take her back so the medics can see to her. Sami, would-could you go with them? You know more about what was on that knife and what you put in her than we do.”

Sami nodded, and Roman squeezed his shoulder again. He didn’t need to be able to read minds to know that Sami was upset, because he didn’t know if what he did would help Sarah. Roman stood and helped get Sarah situated in a vehicle, Sami, Tommaso, and Ruby all going with her. Roman felt a hand on his back-Seth.

“I’m sure your teammate will be okay. N’sedar is very unlikely to kill, and-it could work differently for Olanns, but I don’t think it will.”

Roman nodded, and they headed over to the group of Earthlings, who were all now once again subdued. Nia, A.J. and Brock were standing in front of them, and Roman blushed as his captains both gave him a look.

“What’s the situation?”

“Sarah was stabbed with a knife that was coated in something called n’sedar extract, it’s a poison-not a deadly one, at least not to Martians, but...we don’t know what it will do to one of us. Sami went with them to help.”

“Good call.”

Roman nodded, and Nia frowned.

“That’s a problem.”

“What is?”

“N’sedar extract-any poison or venom or anything like that is kept-in-in...containment. It’s only accessible to certain people.”

“What kinds of people?”

Nia shrugged. 

“Military, certain contractors who do specific jobs like-I think you call it pest control? There aren’t many people who are allowed access to those materials. Daim keeps a tight hold on anything that could be used for harm.”

They all shared a look between them, and Roman could feel Seth’s frustration and anger like a physical force next to him.   
“It seems like this may go deeper than we thought. I-I am going to go-hit something, please excuse me.”

Seth stormed off, and Roman frowned. He looked to Brock and A.J., both of them pensive and quiet. Nia sighed. 

“A.J., why don’t you and I go help make sure that no more suspects from Daim or Olann have weapons?”

A.J. nodded, heading off with the Martian. It left Brock and Roman standing there, and Roman shifted a little, swallowing. Brock made him nervous. 

“Reigns.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Follow me.”

Roman tensed, but obeyed, following Brock to a quiet spot beside the vehicles. There was no one around, everyone else preoccupied by the goings-on. Brock pulled out a pack of cigarettes, looking at Roman for a second before holding it out to him. Roman frowned, but took one. He hadn’t smoked anything in a long time, but he wasn’t about to turn down the offer. Brock lit his, then tossed the lighter to Roman. 

“I think you misunderstand something about me, Reigns.”

Roman inhaled, handing the lighter back to Brock.

“How do you mean, sir?”

Brock looked out at the expanse of Mars in front of them. He waited a moment before talking. 

“You think I don’t like you.”

Roman felt like he probably shouldn’t be having this conversation. 

“I….I don’t think you hate me or anything, but-I don’t think I’m your favorite person in the world, no.”

“This world, or ours?”

“Any.”

Brock huffed out a laugh. 

“True. Not gonna lie to you. But I don’t dislike you. I just don’t think you should be here.”

Roman felt a little cold at that, but otherwise didn’t react. He inhaled more smoke, blowing it out slowly.”

“May I ask why you think that?”

“You’re not a soldier. You weren’t trained for this. You haven’t done a bad job, I’m not stupid enough to let whatever prejudices I have keep me from realizing that. But I don’t believe that you’ve earned your way here. I think you’re still too willing to act of your own accord. You’re not a bad guy, but you’re not a good soldier.”

Roman leaned against the vehicle, like Brock was, and looked out to Mars, just like Brock was doing. 

“May I say something?”

“Shocked you ain’t just saying it.”

Roman smiled.

“I don’t care about being a good soldier. I don’t-shit, I don’t care for the military as a whole. Never have, never will. I care about doing a good job and being a good teammate. If i’m doing that, then I’m doing as good as I care to.”

“Fair. Again, I don’t think you’ve done a bad job. You just don’t belong here, not like everyone else does.”

Roman shrugged.   
“I probably don’t. I mean-don’t get me wrong, I like you guys, I consider the people on this team my friends, I….I’ve really liked being on this team. But I know I’m different. I know I’m not like any of you. I don’t think that matters, not in the way you do.”

Brock stomped out his cigarette and lit another. Roman watched him out of the side of his eye. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you like anyone? Like-you don’t seem to have made any friends here. That’s not a judgement, you just...don’t seem to like people.”

That got a genuine laugh out of his captain, and Roman had to laugh a little too.

“Got my number on that one, Reigns. No, I don’t really like people. Don’t care to. Don’t care about making friends, either. Paul’s a friend, that’s all I need. I don’t need the people on this team to be my friends. I need them to listen to me.”

“Fair.”   
They quietly smoked, watching Mars under the night sky. It was….not something Roman ever envisioned himself doing, but so far, this job had thrown a lot of surprises at him.

“You do wanna be here more than anyone else, though. I can see that.”

Roman turned and looked at Brock.

“Sir?”

“I could see that about you from the start. You wanna be on this God-forsaken planet more than anyone else on this team. I don’t see the appeal-just a big, weird desert to me-but you seem to love it. Good for you, honestly. Loving what you do will keep you going.”

“Do you love what you do?”

Brock raised an eyebrow at him. 

“No. I don’t care for this job. Fine with being in the military, but this job particularly-yeah, not a fan. I do it cause I get paid. I’d rather be back on Earth, protecting Earth. Not a fuckin’ corporation’s interests.”

Roman nodded. They stayed like that, for a bit, occasionally talking, billows of smoke rising into the air. 

\---


End file.
